Innocent Regret
by Nicolas Crossworth
Summary: Nothing's more interesting than taking a strange girl for a tour. What can go wrong?
1. Chapter 1

It was a bright sunny day judging from the little rays of light coming from the closed window. Birds chirped while a light breeze travelled over the roof of the Basilicom. Still despite this, Neptune was just waking up from a very nice dream which involved something about food and karaoke. The Goddess of Planeptune rubbed the last traces of sleep from her eyes before finally getting out of bed. For some reason she found it hard to move and breathe.

"Holy crap! Who are you and what are you doing in…my…room?" her startled yelp slowly turned into a faltering whisper as she came across her mirror, "Is that…me?"

Staring back at her with icy blue eyes was a young woman that looked like in her prime while wearing a pair of light purple pajamas which seemed to be four sizes smaller for her and looked as if they were about to burst at any given moment. Neptune looked at her hands in confusion and then back at the young woman standing inside the mirror. As air-headed as she was, it was obvious that the person there was indeed her yet not at the same time.

"Did I just transform in my sleep?" she asked herself, in a slightly deeper version of her original voice. She huffed for a moment before closing her eyes in concentration. After a few moments she broke her focus, staring in bewilderment at the mirror as she found out that she was still in her HDD form. The form of the Goddess of Planeptune, Purple Heart.

She crossed her arms under her modest chest while appearing to be deep in thought, "That's weird, I can't transform back. Ah! I know, maybe I should ask Nep Jr. she'll probably know what to do."

With a reassuring nod to herself in the mirror and clenching her fist, Neptune walked off towards her wardrobe for some spare clothes. Unfortunately the only ones that she found which could her was a purple sleeveless one piece dress which she received during her last Christmas celebration. Fond memories filled her heart as she gazed at it and deemed it suitable to be worn until this whole fiasco was solved. Maybe she could even tease Noire a bit despite her predicament.

She hurriedly wore her clothes and immediately made her way to her little sister's room, Nepgear. Neptune took one glance at the pink door with a cute little sign stuck on it before knocking on the door with a loud voice, calling to her sister.

"Hey, sissy? Yoohoo, Nepgear! Open up, I need to ask you something!"

A frown crept across her face. Nepgear didn't usually take this long to answer; much less open the door to greet her sister good morning.

"Alright here, Nep Jr. If you don't open this door at the count of three I'm going to bust it open~"

Still no response. Not even a sound was heard from within the room.

"One~" Neptune took a step backward and readied herself.

Again, there was no response.

"Two~" she put her arm in front of her and braced herself.

Still, no one came out.

"Three~!" with that, Neptune charged shoulder first against the door, bursting into Nepgear's room and unceremoniously landing in a heap. She quickly stood up as if she planned the whole thing and looked around. The room looked identical to hers save for the light blue paint decorated with white hearts unlike Neptune's room which was painted purple (for obvious reasons) and had bowls for designs.

It was a modest bedroom with a fluffy looking bed just beside the window. A blue desk with pink borders sat at the opposite side where a round oval mirror was placed on it. Neptune approached it with a curious expression and picked up an object on top of it. She flipped her sister's phone and turned it on.

"Okay… This is the phone IF gave sissy. Knowing Geary, she'd never leave this lying around," Planeptune's Goddess face began to show signs of worry for a moment. That is until she decided to snoop around her sister's mail inbox, "He he he, I wonder what kind of messages she's been chirping around~."

Much to her surprise only a '_no signal'_ message greeted her, as if the phone suddenly broke down. Neptune tinkered with the phone once more, turning it off and on again, only to receive the same message. She decided to toss the phone on the bed and pout. She suddenly transformed in her sleep, Nepgear's nowhere to be seen, and now the error message, it didn't take an idiot to know that something was going on.

Turning her attention to the door, the Goddess quickly went out and descended the flight of stairs, eventually making her way to the Oracle's quarters. Passing by countless of pillars, she finally made it to Histoire's study and frantically knocked on the door.

"Histy? Histy are you in there? Please tell me you're in there, NepJr.'s missing!" called the purple haired woman as she rattled on the door. Eventually, a sigh of relief escaped her as she got her response.

"Come in," replied a muffled voice from within and the doors immediately spread open. Neptune entered a circular library like study filled with pillars painted gold. It sure was a breath taking sight with the emerald green floor going well with the yellow shining back ground. Brown leather bound books sat on the shelves of the majestic library. Still, Neptune could care less what it looked like since she saw the place a million times already. Right now, her attention was on the person buried beneath a hill of books.

"Histy! Wh-what happened here?! Did jumpsuit ninjas attack?! Where's Nepgear? Did she do this? Did you feed her too much sugar again?! Oh my god, tell me you didn't—"

"Please, just help me out of here," pleaded the voice as a hand shot out of the pile and waved frantically for assistance. The purple Goddess took the tiny hand with both of her arms with one strong pull, successfully releasing a tiny fairy-like person from the mountain of books. A large open book soon followed suit where the fairy (?) promptly sat on it before speaking in a rather miffed tone, "Thank you Neptune, however if you were only a bit more speedy in..your… Purple Heart?"

"Hi!" greeted Neptune with a cheery wave, ignoring the fact that she was still in her HDD form.

"Why are you in your Goddess form?" said Histoire with a confused expression while asking the million credit question.

"I… don't know. Anyway, that's what I'm here for! I was wondering if you know something," replied the Planeptune's Goddess.

The personified tome hovered close to the CPU's face before flying around her, inspecting anything that may be odd, "Have you tried changing back?"

"I did, but something's stopping me. I got no heads or tails of what the heck is going on with me," Neptune responded with a pout while crossing her arms.

Histoire merely shook her head in amusement; she had never experienced seeing Purple Heart act as Neptune even though they were the same person. The transformed Neptune was more of an alter ego of her old self, much more confident and mature, seeing her like this was nothing short of funny. The tiny girl fluttered her wings while pinching Neptune's cheek, causing the Goddess to recoil in pain.

"Ouch! What did you do that for, you bully?!" asked the purple goddess while massaging her throbbing cheek.

"Have you ever considered testing if you were still asleep?" questioned Histoire, closing in to pinch Neptune once more, "Things like these happen all too often."

The CPU nervously backed away, "W-wait, hold on! I-I'm not asleep! I'm bright as a diamond and jumpy as a kangaroo on sugar rush, see?"

Unfortunately, Neptune's scared smile didn't work. That is until the personified tome started giggling, "Oh dear, oh dear. At times, it feels good teasing you."

"Geez, why are you acting so weird?" the Goddess held her arms around herself, "First I wake up being like this, then NepJr.'s gone missing; now you're acting all weird! I told you to stay away from the fridge!"

"Nepgear's missing?" at this, a look of worry flashed across Histoire's face before quickly dismissing it with a smile, "Well, she could be anywhere right now. Maybe taking a stroll or meeting up with a couple of friends."

"Yeah, maybe you're right," said Neptune while rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly, "Still, I don't think she'll go out without her phone."

"Hmm, maybe she left in a hurry and forgot it? Though I don't know any particular reason why she would do that," the personified tome then clapped her hands as an idea struck her, "Maybe she's with Uni. You do know how close those two are; maybe they're on a date! Why don't you go around town and ask if anyone's seen them."

_I would if I could, but there's still the problem with my HDD form,_ thought Neptune, _Ah, whatever, NepJr.'s more important. Guess I have to act as a good sister and check up on her._

"Alrighty! I'll go and find her. Be back later!" called Neptune with a wave of her hand before she ran out of the door, leaving Histoire behind shaking her head looking utterly bemused.

* * *

Planeptune, the Land of Purple progress. Compared to the smoky skies of Lastation, Planeptune had a cleaner atmosphere and livelier streets despite being the most advanced Landmass in Gamindustri. The buildings were tucked together, matching the landscape with their elegant designs. Sky scrapers and radio towers reached for the heavens while hovering vehicles bustled their way through the traffic of the busy town.

Everywhere one would look, there would be a Silhouette offering newspapers, a person calling for customers to come and eat in their shop, or a street performer juggling a knife, a cat, and a small blue hedgehog.

To say Neptune loved the place would be an understatement.

Right now, she was walking among the bustling crowds of her landmass. While she enjoyed not being flocked by fanatics all the time, she did note the strangeness of not being noticed. The people merely passed her by without even a second glance. Sure they would ignore her if she were in her human form, but not acknowledging her in her HDD form was really weird. She knew this since people close to her would refer to her as 'Embodiment of Strange'.

"Hmm, stranger and stranger. I wonder what's gotten into everyone," she muttered to herself as she navigated through the tide of Silhouettes. It was kind of annoying sometimes that the people you're ruling were nothing more than black masses with humanoid forms. Neptune pondered for a moment on what it was like being a character unimportant to the plot. There were a few exceptions though, IF and Compa were the prime examples along with Gust and Nisa.

She then clasped both of her hands at the side of her head and shook, "No, no, no! I can't let myself get distracted! Righty, gotta tail Nep Jr.'s scent and drag her back home. After that I'll have to ask someone else about a way to turn back to normal. Gotta go fast!"

That was when the purple CPU caught sight of her. It was a girl that wasn't a Silhouette.

Curious of this unfamiliar face, Neptune slowly approached the girl as if she was being drawn to her. The girl had a pale complexion which went beautifully with her long black hair which was tied into uneven twin tails, on side being shorter than the other. A black poncho with a star design covered her back while wearing a pair of thigh high black boots. The girl must have sensed Neptune's approach and immediately turned to face her. A white shirt and skirt with a buckled black belt completed the stranger's image.

She looked at Neptune with an emotionless gaze. Those piercing blue eyes seemed to bore hole in the CPU's soul.

Crowds of Silhouettes passed by ignoring the two as they continued staring at each other. Finally, Neptune did something surprising yet not entirely unexpected.

"Hi there! You lost or something?" she greeted with a light wave as if she were saying hi to an old friend.

The pale girl merely tilted her head in a questioning way, causing the Purple Goddess to rub the back of her neck, "Ah, sorry. I must've looked pretty weird. Anyway, the name's Neptune! You look like you're kinda lost, so I'm here to help you out!"

Again, the girl tilted her head to the opposite side and blinked twice.

"You mute or something?" asked Neptune while studying the pale girl. She was caught off guard when the girl suddenly raised her hand as if asking the CPU to take it.

"Rock," said the girl while Neptune stared at the gesture with an odd expression. A few seconds later, she took it and slowly shook it.

"It's…nice to meet 'cha Rock!" responded the CPU with a nervous chuckle only to have the smile wiped off her face when she heard a growl somewhere. Acting fast, she immediately prepared herself for battle by raising her fists, only to find nothing around them. A growl sounded once more, and her attention was turned to Rock clutching her stomach.

"Umm, you hungry?" she asked to which the strange girl nodded.

"Yes," replied Rock.

* * *

The two new acquaintances now sat within a fancy café where they were both serve cakes and muffins. While Neptune dug in, throwing decency out of the window and wolfing down her food since she was Goddess, the girl named Rock only stared at her as if she were an interesting ball game. She watched as muffin after muffin disappeared into the shapely girl's mouth like a bottomless vacuum.

It was only when she turned her attention to her food and place it on her mouth did she realize how hungry she felt.

Before attacking another group of muffins, Neptune actually took the time to know more about this mysterious girl, "So, where you come from Rocky? You don't like you're from around these parts."

"Foreigner," replied the pale girl as if she had said it a thousand times. Neptune being Neptune didn't seem to notice it and immediately lit up.

"What!?" she exclaimed, just barely keeping her excitement in check. "Then you must've come from a different Landmass! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, that's why you're lost!"

Rock blinked at her in confusion with an expression that said, _Is that really something you should be happy about?_

"You know what that means?" asked Neptune, dangerously leaning forward causing her to expose her cleavage. A flash of annoyance crossed Rock's face yet the CPU didn't seem to notice this. "That means I can tour you around the city and show you all of the cool places!"

Her face adopting a more neutral expression, the paler girl placed a gloved finger upon the Goddess's forehead and pushed her away. Seeing that bright and enthusiastic face on the purple head made Rock's stomach squirm, it was cheery enough to make her sick a bit yet she held it back.

Instead, she replied, "Okay. I'll go."

"Alright!" yelled Neptune, pumping her fist into the air. She grabbed Rock by the arm just as she was about to take a bite out of her muffin, "Come on! I'll take you to the shops, there's bound to be an outfit that's going to make you look fabulous!"

Sighing as she resigned to her fate, Rock looked longingly at her untouched food as she was dragged by this weird, naïve, yet curvaceous purple headed woman she just met to God-knows-where. The fashion accessory which coiled itself on her right arm twitched a bit. Something told Rock that she was in for a lecture later on.

* * *

"Well, what the heck are you doing?"

Rock refused to reply and merely stared at… the thing in front of her.

"Oi, don't give me that look. We're wasting time here! We need to find the stagnated soul instead of shopping and gaming!"

Rock hardened her gaze in defiance to the… thing's words.

"Seriously, what is up with you?" hissed Ron as he bobbed up and down in the air.

The pale blue eyed girl was leaning with her back against a wall within an alley, apparently waiting for Neptune to come back from running a few errands. The Goddess told her to wait somewhere while she went to the stores and asked around for her sister's whereabouts. She was worried that Rock would get lost if left alone so she proposed that they'll meet up at the fountain area after thirty minutes. Hence the current situation with Rock's one and only partner, the shape shifting snake-like entity, Ron.

"Rock! Hey are you even listening?!" yelled the black snake with no eyes. Ron then proceeded to scratch his head with his tail, "I just don't get it with 'cha. You weren't always like this you know? Are you getting soft or what? Hey, look at me when I'm speaking to you!"

Looking to her far right, Rock pretended not to hear anything. It was times like this when she just wished for him to shut up. Although, she was forced to pay attention when he whipped her ankle with his tail, making her very irritated.

_**THUD**_

Now she was annoyed. The snake actually dared to knock her down by yanking her foot, causing her to fall flat on the floor.

"Alright, you've been acting weird lately and I'm not about to let you daydream on your job," growled Ron as he jabbed the end of his tail on Rock's forehead, "You need to know what we're here for! We have to stay alert! We don't know if that accursed soul will show up sooner or later. You freaking get me, partner?!"

The girl merely gave him a look of disgust and shoved him off her.

"Gah, whatever…" sighed the snake, "Look. Is this about what that Hanako girl said? Or about that stagnant soul Cecil? Listen here Rock, we can't have you getting distracted with whatever you're thinking. One wrong move and we're good as dead. So why don't you just become a good Shooter and go search for that soul with me, sounds good?"

"No," replied Rock in a quiet tone.

"Dammit! You know what? You're impossible," relented Ron, "Sure go ahead, play with that weird girl you've picked up. I don't care. Just don't come crying to me after you realize she's just another freaking illusion of this place."

The Black Star raised an eyebrow on his words. Probably in confusion. If Ron had a face, he might had a smug expression as he nodded.

"Yeah, yeah. It's possible that Neptune girl's just another illusion like that Ret boy and Io girl," he then flew his way towards Rock, circling her, "There's the possibility that she might end up like those two, so don't get your hopes up too much."

Rock stiffened at mention of those names. Ret and Io were victims of a serial killer's stagnated soul, forced to live the last days of their lives just to be killed over and over again. She glared at Ron with old eyes as she said, "Don't….Remind me."

"Heh, just saying," replied the snake sheepishly, "So where do you think that soul is? This place is pretty big and…futuristic. Wonder where we'll start."

"Neptune," muttered the girl.

At first Ron tilted his head in confusion before opening his jaw in realization, "Rock! You sneaky genius! That girl just announced that she'll give us a tour, maybe she'll show us the way around and meet the soul on our way!"

"Captain Obvious."

"Shut up," snapped Ron before returning to his sinister chuckling, "He he, sounds like a plan to me."

The girl then paced her way towards the exit of the alley. She poked her head out and found that Neptune hasn't returned yet. Walking back to Ron, she leaned back against the wall with a heavy sigh. Maybe she was going soft. Back in her earlier days as a Black Shooter she didn't care what she thought of souls, she just reaped them and handed back to HQ without a word or complaint. But then, as she gazed through the illusion made by the stagnated soul and into the greenish sky, she started to look back on her actions and on the souls which she had encountered.

One thing that was for sure; deep inside, they were all sad. She didn't show it, but they were like her in a way.

So much sadness just waiting to burst, yet she didn't know why. Something inside her just didn't feel right. This had to stop, one way or another.

"Gah! Help, Rock!"

She jerked her attention at her partner, squirming around to break free from a certain purple head's grip.

"Gotcha! Whoa, what kind of robot is this?"asked Neptune as she held Ron's neck and tail, gently pulling them, "It's kinda cute! Hey, Rocky where'd you buy this snake?"

"Oi! Who the hell are you calling a snake, helium head!" snapped the snake before beginning to choke, "R-Rock, h-he-help m-me!"

Rock stared at the scene before her with confusion for a moment before turning into mild horror at her partner's groans and yelps. A few seconds later, Neptune revealed a very irritated Ron tied up like a balloon animal.

"Ta da! Do you like it?" asked Neptune with a bright smile, "It's a giraffe!"

"Har har, very funny," said the snake, his voice dripping with sarcasm, being turned into a lasso courtesy by Rock. "Stop it! I'm getting dizzy, WHA—"

The two girls then began to walk away, ignoring the pained groans of Ron within the garbage can.

* * *

Rock had the experience of the world coming to her for the souls she fought always brought a piece of it in their memories. But what she was seeing now was just beyond anything she had encountered before. She was with the strange girl named Neptune, climbing hundreds of feet into the air within a glass elevator, gazing at the breathtaking view of a magnificent and thriving metropolis. Placing a hand against the glass, she looked back at the girl behind her before gazing down low.

Neptune giggled as she noticed the look of unease on the pale girl's face.

The CPU sighed inwardly. During her journey to the store, she tried everything she had just to find her sister. She asked the Silhouettes yet they continued to ignore her, she went to a Chirper station yet for some reason there was no signal. No one paid her any attention and she found it hard contacting her friends since she had no means of communicating with them from afar. Neptune was in a pickle.

Today was sure a weird day. By now she had gotten used to her HDD form's body and was able to move around more comfortably (the first fifteen minutes she wore her dress were a pain since there was this unholy itch on her back). She noted that her long hair was much better off in their braids, however due to the circumstances; they flowed elegantly on her back. Another weird thing she noticed was that she managed to retain her 'old personality' despite being in her current form.

She mentally bonked her head as more and more questions began to pile up.

Neptune suddenly felt dizzy for a moment, weird images popped up within her vision before fading away. She looked up to see the expressionless gaze Rock gave her, it seemed like the girl had caught her before she fell.

"You okay, girly?" inquired Ron from Rock's arm.

"Y-yeah. Okay as a good morning on Tuesday!" Neptune forced a smile on her face as the paler girl helped her up to her feet.

"Right, so… You mind telling us more about this place?" requested the coiled snake on the Black Star's arm, "We are foreigners after all."

"Ah, right," replied Neptune as she sheepishly scratched her head, "This city is the Capital of Planeptune, one of the four Landmasses within Gamindustri."

"Gamindustri? Sorry, never heard of it," Ron bluntly said, earning him a flick on the head from Rock. "What's the big idea?!"

"You…Don't know about Gamindustri?" repeated the Goddess in awe, "You don't know _anything_ at all?"

This time, it was Rock who answered, "Nothing at all…"

The purple head's eyes lit up, "Ahh! Then this is just great!"

"What are you talking about?" said Ron as if Neptune had lost her marbles.

"I know this kind of plot!" she pointed a dramatic finger at the girl before her, "This is similar to my story! You see I was an amnesiac once upon a time before I found out I was a Goddess!"

"Amnesiac? Goddess? Sorry, you've lost me there," Ron scratched his head with his tail while Rock seemed to be deep in thought.

"You're a… Goddess?" she asked, looking at Neptune with the same neutral expression. The CPU nodded her head vigorously in response.

"Yup! I'm this Landmass' one and only Purple Heart!" declared Neptune while striking a pose, her bust bouncing a bit which caused a drip of warm blood to come out of his non-existent nose. Rock took a handkerchief out of nowhere and shoved it into Ron's face. He could've sworn he felt a killing intent right then and there.

"So…" he began while wiping his nose, "What does a Goddess do? Or what the heck were you doing out in public for that matter? Isn't that a bit dangerous?"

The elevator's bell rang and the party stepped out into an open area high above the tallest building Planeptune had to offer. Neptune touched her hair while staring at the sky, only turning around with a smile to answer Ron's question.

"I was looking for my sister, Nepgear!" she answered cheerfully. Opening her eyes, she stared at the floor with an awkward look as she twiddled her thumbs nervously, "You see, well… Uhhh… How do I say this… Something happened this morning."

The snake turned his gaze away from the scenery and gazed at the CPU, "Really? Anything weird?"

"Of course there was something weird!" she exclaimed, "I always slept in my human form, but for some weird Hilly Billy reason, a weird glitch modded my body and turned me into my CPU form!"

Ron shared a glance with Rock who shrugged. He then continued while scratching his head, "Sorry, we ain't genre savvy. You mind explaining what in the world a CPU and a glitch is?"

Pouting a bit, Neptune held her hands on her hips while saying, "Fine. A CPU stands for Console Patron Unit, better known as Goddesses! We CPUs are the sole protectors of our Landmasses, Lowee, Lastation, Leanbox, and this place; Planeptune with me being its Goddess! So aside from fighting crime and stopping evil, we get to do some things that a Goddess only gets to do. Still, it's pretty boring so I go around and play at the arcade all the time. Pretty fun life if you ask me."

"Fun?" muttered Rock while Ron clicked his tongue.

"Such a dedicated leader you are," he said with the same amount of sarcasm. "So who does all the work while you relax?"

"My sister of course!"

"No wonder she left— OUCH! WHAT THE HELL, ROCK!?"

"Rude…"

Neptune giggled at the two strangers' bickering. It reminded her of Blanc and Vert that is if Vert was quiet and stoic and if Blanc limited her use of profanities.

"Alright, alright back to the topic at hand," said Ron while turning his attention back at the Goddess, "You know anything that might've… I dunno, caused your transformation? Did you eat something expired or something a turned you the way you are?"

"I don't know… For some reason I can't remember what I ate last night," answered the purple head, placing her elbow on her left hand while resting her head on her fist, "There's also this problem that I can't turn back into my human form."

"Stuck?" guessed the paler girl as she leaned against the railings.

"Yeah! I'm stuck! I can't transform back no matter how hard I try," said Neptune, her shoulders in a slump. She knew staying in this form forever will be no fun at all. She missed her old body already; it got her to wear cuter dresses than what her HDD had to offer. Besides, she liked it when people liked her as Neptune, not as Purple Heart. She didn't show it, but she was kind of annoyed of people worshiping her blindly its almost creepy.

The CPU sighed.

It's probably a Goddess thing that Histoire always prattled about. Ever since she lost her memory and regained it back, it took some time for her to get used to things again. Going to conferences, doing Goddess duties, helping the Landmass improve and keeping things stable with the other Landmasses. She had Nepgear to thank for keeping things up to date. Maybe she should appreciate her sister's work some more rather than goofing around.

Now that she thought of it, she was reminded by a saying Compa always told her during their adventures: _You don't know how important something is until you lost it._

For a moment, the Goddess' eyes widened in shock as nausea threatened to engulf her. Rock quickly came to her side to keep her steady while Ron hovered next to her.

"Hey! That's the second time already. You sure you're okay?" asked Ron, this time his tone colored with genuine concern.

"Y-yes…" lied Neptune, inhaling a shaky breath. She looked up at Rock's face and said, "Why don't we continue with the tour? I did promise that I'll take you around the city."

Rock and Ron looked at each other for a moment before the former said, "Okay."

_Nepgear… Why were you covered in blood?_

* * *

Rock was in awe as she walked through the city, however she didn't show it. As Neptune explained all throughout the trip, Planeptune was better known as the Land of Purple Progress, one of the most advanced Landmass in Gamindustri. It did not disappoint as she saw countless of gizmos and gadgets propped up inside shops ranging from deadly laser swords to mundane items given a new look like frying pans. Sometimes she wondered if she was still in the Threshold given how otherworldly this illusion seemed to be. She glanced at Ron who seemed to be sharing the same idea.

They were now boarding a train which will take them to the Central City, hopefully finding Neptune's sister along the way. Rock gazed at the elegant silver domes and glass buildings as they passed by. She stared at the moving streets and found no dirt whatsoever, as if the whole city was free of dirt and taint. The Black Star had seen her fair share of illusions however this was all too much to take in. Again, she did not show it and maintained her neutral expression.

"There are many floating islands surrounding the Landmass. Many of them having an awesome view of the City at night," chirped Neptune as she directed Rock's attention towards the pieces of land among the clouds, "Sadly, I can't take you out to see it since Nep Jr.'s still missing."

"Nah, its okay kid. My partner here seems to be enjoying herself," said Ron, jabbing his tail at the pale girl pressing her face against the glass.

"Um, anyway!" began the CPU to continue her explanation, "There's a lot of cool stuff at the Central. Especially at night. You can see the whole city glow purple like a big shining jellybean!"

"That's an interesting analogy," replied Ron with an understanding nod. "Say, what's that big island above us? Another Landmass?"

Neptune pressed her own face against the glass and looked up, "Ah, that's Celestia, that's my home. It's where I and the other three Goddesses live along with the Goddess candidates."

"Wait, wait, wait, so you don't live in this place? I Thought this was your Landmass?" asked the snake in confusion.

"Well I don't get it very much, but the four major Landmasses (Planeptune included) are known as the World Below by us there in Celestia," answered Neptune with a smug expression. "There was this one time when this mean witch named Arfoire kicked us out and forced us to live here on our respective Landmasses. Problem with me though, that's the time I lost my memory."

"So you regained your memory and fought her…" muttered Rock as she turned towards Neptune.

Her partner released a sigh and said, "Seriously, can't you stop stating the obvious? Of course she regained her memory and fought back!"

'Yup that's right! Histy told me to go on this epic fetch quest to nab the four key fragments from the Landmasses," explained the CPU, sitting down on her chair, "It was the only way we could open a path to Celestia and give Arfoire a piece of our mind! Buuuuuut that was a long, long time ago."

Rock blinked a couple of times before turning her attention back at the scenery.

A bell rang somewhere which indicated that they had arrived at their destination. Exiting the train, Rock found herself within a deep blue station which seemed deserted at a first glance. She wouldn't have thought that there were people around her if not for the Silhouettes that crowded around. Neptune still hasn't come out yet so Ron took the chance to hover at his partner's side.

"What's on your mind?" he asked, looking up to her unreadable face.

"Memories…" was Rock's simple reply before the Goddess burst out of the crowd looking exhausted.

And so the tour continued with Neptune introducing the quiet girl to the noisy arcade. The interior of the place was a deep shade of purple with blue lights glowing upon the walls similar to that of the stars. There were a lot of games to choose from; fighting games, shooters, ring tossing, 4D movie rides, Virtual Warriors, vintage games, crane games and a whole lot more. The CPU took Rock's hand and pulled her into a fighting game. The Black Star being a stranger to this world, and a complete foreigner to videogames promptly lost the first two matches.

However after Ron's quick crash course on how the game worked, Rock began to fight back and win against the purple Goddess. The game ended with the characters of both girls punched each other at the same time, resulting into a draw.

And there it was. Ron only saw it once during their fight with the stagnant soul Cecil, however here it was again; Rock's smile.

He watched as the girls ventured into another game, leaving behind. If he had a face his expression would be akin to that of a bemused one. Stretching his spine, he decided that staying at one place would do his body good. He had been moving around too much, "I guess I'll let her have her fun…"

* * *

The two girls too their time in playing crane games and shooters. Both of them were actually good marksmen, gaining the highest scores in the game. Neptune won Rock a pretty dress by trading in their tickets, the former forcing the latter to the changing rooms. Soon, the pale girl now wore a bright purple blouse with long sleeves accompanied by a dark violet skirt and black leggings. Her hair was now tied into a braid that reached unto her back.

The Goddess placed Rock in front of a mirror and said, "Well, what' cha think? It goes nicely with your eyes! Like mine!"

The paler girl stared at her for a second before saying, "Thank….you."

"No problem!" replied Neptune before pulling Rock into someplace else again. She felt this weird sensation within herself, it was like those times. Those previous missions, the stagnant souls. She looked at the smiling beauty before her and felt her stomach grow heavier.

Rock felt bad.

She was then wrenched out of her trance as the CPU came to a halt. They were now in front of a large circular pool, silver tubes poking out of the water's surface. It was clear, reflecting the blue sky and white clouds in the heavens. Rock approached it and spotted tiny glints beneath the water, they were coins. Bronze and silver coins staring back at her. The Black Star then recalled a past memory; it was once said that throwing coins into fountains or wells could grant one's wish.

She entertained the thought for a moment; she had never made a wish before. Not that there was anything to wish for.

A hand patted her shoulder, which caused her to immediately turn around. She found Neptune offering her a couple of coins, gesturing her to toss them over the water. With a nod of acknowledgement, she took the coins and closed her eyes. Rock saw all of the souls which she was forced to capture. She wanted the bad feeling to go away, that emotion which she hated.

And so she made her wish, tossing the coin into the fountain.

The Black Star glanced at the Goddess beside her who did the same. A few seconds after Neptune threw in her two cents, the fountain burst into life. A torrent of water shot high up in the air, the ones at the side forming an arc. Six more torrents were unleashed, all forming a circular pattern following the shape of the pool. The next moment, the waters died down only to shoot small jets flying in synch with each other.

The spectacle was impressive if one were to continue watching it.

"Ahhh! What a day!" commented Neptune as she leaned against the side of the pool.

Rock tilted her head and gave the Goddess a questioning look.

"It sure was fun! Although it should be more fun if Nepgear were here, she would've loved to meet you!" she said with her ever present smile. The Black Star merely looked away with a sad expression, avoiding the CPU's eyes. That smile… A girl once told Rock: _Did you know? That if you forced yourself to smile even when you're feeling down, that contagious feeling will overpower your heart. That's why I'm always smiling and being warm to others._

"Hey is something wrong?" asked the Goddess as she noticed the paler girl clenching her hands into a fist. She could see that Rock was upset for some reason.

"You're the same…" she replied in the same quiet voice, "You smile even when you're sad. You must… be a really kind person…"

"Ehhh? R-Rock?"

_Why… Why can't I bring myself to break that smile? _She thought through gritted teeth. With a sigh, she finally reached her decision, the pieces were together now, "Neptune. What was the last thing you remember last night?"

That did it. The CPU's eyes widened as the sick feeling overcame her once more, this time, Rock didn't catch her. She watched as Neptune collapse on the ground clutching her head with wide eyes. The Goddess started to see things again, without Rock to stop it, she was forced to watch the images, the images of her friends dying. That's when everything began to click into place.

_Wh-what's happening!?_ She mentally screamed, _What's going on!? Why? N-N-Noire? U-Uni? They're bleeding! What, NO! _

"R-R-Rock, help them, help them please!" pleaded Neptune as the scenery began to change. Gone were the majestic buildings and glassed domes. The sky turned gray while the landscape turned into a wide green plain. The shops were quickly replaced with trees and an empty horizon. Soon, the clear white floor the girls stood on was replaced by dirt, soil, and blood.

Three people came into existence as all of this happened. Two of them were heavily injured, while the third was hovering just beside Neptune. The girl beside the Goddess seemed to be shorter and had longer hair which was dyed pink. She had the same blue eyes as the CPU, hovering upright with a look of pain mixed with guilt and determination. She wore a rather revealing white bodysuit-like outfit which connected around her neck with similar gloves and boot pieces.

One of the injured girls the opposite of them were struggling to get up, while the other lay on her back with a sword imbedded on her stomach. Suffice to say that the one who was still struggling had her hair in a ringlet fashion at the sides of her snow white head. Her body filled with mud and dirt as well as her own blood while she pushed with all herself off the ground with all her strength.

The girl who had the sword on her stomach merely stared at the gray sky as it started to rain. Her breathing was shallow, barely having the strength to move any part of her body. If one were to compare the white haired girls, it was easily enough to guess that they were siblings, much like Neptune and the other girl beside her.

Finally, Planeptune's Goddess found her voice and said, "N-Nepgear? What's… What's happening? Why are Uni and Noire… Oh no… NOIRE!"

Same as last time with the Silhouettes, no one paid her any attention. She simply sat there, staring in horror as she watched her sister, her own dear sweet sister approach the Goddess of Lastation and sister with a grim expression. With one fluid movement, Nepgear drew the purple sword from the unmoving Noire's body.

"I'm sorry…" Nepgear gazed into Lastation's candidate with solemn eyes, tears running down her cheeks.

"W-Wh- *hic* What are you saying?" growled Uni between sobs, "D-Don't be like t-t-that. It's embarrassing… Knowing that *hic* we… were beaten by a crybaby like you."

Neptune slowly rose to her feet, "Stop. Stop it!"

Uni smiled, "Do it."

"NO!"

Thunder boomed overhead as a large wound opened upon the Black Sister's stomach. Her body never hit the ground for it suddenly turned into white light and absorbed into the purple sword. The same way happened to Noire's fading body.

"Promise…Us… That you'll save…this world," she whispered before disappearing completely.

"Ah…Ah….AAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHH!"

At Neptune's scream, the scenery began to change. Everything was coated in white and the land around was barren save for a few dead trees. The CPU sobbed pathetically on the snow, her hot tears melting the ice. Rock ran towards her but was pushed away by an invisible force. Letting out a pained groan, the Black Star resumed her approach only to meet the same results.

"Try… And remember…. Stop running!" she yelled at the sobbing Goddess.

A gale blew by and from the white smoke appeared five individuals. Two Rock recognized as Neptune and Nepgear, fighting side by side against three opponents. A fireball flew ahead while another gale soon followed it. The sound of steel against steel echoed throughout the landscape.

"Kyaa!"

"Ram!"

Rock turned her attention towards the voice as she heard the name. However instead of finding the woman she had met in the past, she caught the sight of a two little girls in blue and pink winter coats helping each other up. A third girl limping towards them obviously hurt. This one seemed to be the eldest of them, wearing a lightly burnt white jacked with brown fur while clutching what seemed to be a hat on her hand.

She got in front of the two girls, panting and breathing hard. She seemed to be the eldest of the three.

"N-N-No…This can't be happening," wept Neptune, refusing to look at the scene. Rock didn't dare go near her in fear of being blasted away again. Instead she settle to watching the terrifying show. She watched as Neptune take the sword from her sister's hand after a brief exchange with the girl in white. Wincing at sound of blade meeting flesh, Rock looked away for a moment. She had seen things worse than this and yet why was she looking away now.

Gritting her teeth, she broke into a run. She reached out with her hand to stop the falling blade from killing the twins. Just before they were about to die, Rock caught the sight of the two young girls smiling. Rock never got there.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Tch," she turned her attention back at Neptune as the landscape turned into something else once more. There were more people this time. A girl with light pink hair in a sweater was working vigorously on healing an injured woman in green's wound. Another girl with brown hair and blue overalls was watching the scene with a grimace and tears falling down her cheeks while clutching another girl with blue hair. The one with blue hair seemed to be comforting the one in brown, though it was no use.

A strange girl in a white hoodie knelt beside the injured woman, from the way she acted, Rock presumed that this was Neptune and that the girl with the sword was Nepgear. The Neptune in her Goddess form was still crying at the side as the scene unfolded. Apparently this memory seemed to be the most painful for her to watch.

"Neptune," muttered Rock.

"What's happening?! I-I don't get it at all! Why am I watching all of this?! Vert didn't have to die, no one had to!" sobbed the CPU as the woman in green, Vert she was called, requested to die by the purple Goddess' hand. A last noble act for the sake of the world she so ever loved.

The sword fell once more and the scenery changed for the final time.

They were back at the fountain area of Planeptune; only difference was that the entire city was deserted. Not a single soul was left walking around save for the two girls. Rock went towards Neptune once more, this time no invisible force knocked her back. She lowered herself at the crying Goddess and hugged her. Neptune didn't resist and continued crying her heart out. Pouring every bit of her emotion out of her system, she wailed and wailed as the memories of her friends' deaths filled her mind.

How could she have forgotten? Were they so cheap that she could forget them so easily? Snuff them out her life and continue living on?

It was painful, so painful that it was like being stabbed by a cold, rusted nail right through the heart over and over without having to die. She regretted it, but it had to be done. Even if she didn't want to kill them, even if she wanted to leave them be, she couldn't. If she did, then all of Gamindustri would fall, collapse, and disappear. She hated it, she hated herself. She became the very person she despised.

Neptune sniffled as she drew away from Rock and uttered a teary laugh, "L-L-Look at me. Crying l-like an idiot.*sniff* You know what happened after then? After Vert gave her life to us?"

"You… ran," replied Rock , her face void of any emotion.

"Yes," confirmed the Goddess, "After then I asked my sister, Nepgear, to come with into a forest. I…In my mind I was planning to kill her. Thinking she would understand. My dear, sweet, Nep Jr. I…I was going to kill her. But then, I realized that I was wrong. I wasn't going to be the heroine that's going to save the world. I… Didn't want to be the heroine…"

She paused for a moment before continuing," So… I *sniff* took the easy way out and asked my sister… to take the sword, and kill me."

"You ran away from your problems and dumped them on your sister," said a familiar voice which drew nearer and nearer, "If only I had hands I'd give you a congratulatory pat on the back for literally screwing things up from square one, genius."

"Ron!" snapped Rock at her partner.

"It's the truth, damn it!" countered the snake, "She's the freaking stagnant soul!"

* * *

All was silent after Ron's revelation. However the most surprised and confused by this, was Neptune. She sent a fearful look towards Rock who merely glared at her tactless partner with irritation mixed with disappointment.

"S-stagnant Soul?" The Goddess asked warily.

"Yeah, you're a stagnant soul. A soul trapped between Heaven and Earth, unable to pass on because of your regrets," explained Ron as he glided down, "You, Lady Neptune, Goddess of the Land of Purple Progress; Planeptune have your regrets anchoring you down to this world. During your death you refused to believe everything that has happened, thinking that all of the deaths, blood, and fear were nothing more than a queer nightmare. You and your simple one track mind of a child forced yourself to believe a lie, a lie that became the truth the longer you believed in it."

"Ron, stop," ordered Rock yet the snake only went on.

"Have you ever wondered why you can't turn back into your 'human' form? Or why people always ignored you? Why you can't contact anyone with your phone?" Ron flew towards Neptune and stopped a few inches away from her face, "It's because you're already dead, and you refuse to believe it, sistah! Gak!"

The snake's rant came to a halt as Rock grabbed him by his neck.

"I'm... dead.. yes, I know that…" whispered Neptune in a uncharacteristically quiet tone, "Everything I knew since this morning… Was a lie. Tell me, Rock… Ron… What else do I have to know? Why are you here? Are you the grim reaper?"

Rock let go of her partner and dropped him on the ground, giving him the chance to continue his explanation, "Fine *cough cough* I guess we owe you an explanation. Not many souls ask us of our job. Me and Rock are part of an organization that handles the capture and purification of stagnant souls. Girls who brave the field in order to subdue souls are known as Black Stars. Rock here is one of them."

"Purification? What…" Neptune faltered on what she was about say.

"Yeah, you'll go to Heaven once you are purified. The only things that live in this world of constant warfare of the Threshold are souls like you," Ron jabbed his tail towards Neptune before jerking his head to Rock, "And Stars like Rock. Still, there's something… I don't know… weird about you. Souls of Beasts are rare, though I have no idea about the souls of Goddesses. Judging by the look of the illusion you created earlier, you're not exactly from Earth aren't you?"

"E-Earth, what's that?"

"Exactly," chuckled Ron to which Rock sent him another hard glare, "You're a Goddess and are from a completely different world, or so I assume, this is probably a first for the Threshold."

"Ron… You're not helping," muttered Rock.

"Hey, I'm trying to make her understand before we go get her," argued the snake, "At least she won't go without knowing, it's the least we can do!"

"But!"

"No, it's okay…" said Neptune as she stood up, wiping her tears from her eyes, "I understand. My burden and guilt got me here, it's my fault…"

"Neptune," Rock gritted her teeth in frustration.

Ron on the other hand kept his casual demeanor about him despite the situation, "Alright, So why don't you be a good girl and come with us. We'll take care of everything by then."

"No…" an unseen forced threw Rock and Ron backwards, causing them to land on the ground hard. Neptune's eye were shining a bright shade of blue, her clothes transforming into a tight fitting black body suit while her purple hair was tied into twin tailed braids. Two circular hair ornaments sat on top of her head while her boots and gloves were the same color scheme as her suit. Two CD-like butterfly wings hovered on her back as she held on her right hand a slender black katana.

"I had no choice, it was all for the good of Gamindustri that I did those things!" she defended herself while summoning her Goddess powers, "It was all necessary! We couldn't beat Arfoire with our own power, so we had no choice! Everyone… I had to make sure that their sacrifices weren't in vain, what part of that can't you understand?!"

A ring of raw purple power exploded outwards, forcing Rock to jump over it.

"But that doesn't mean you shouldn't find another way!" yelled Ron, "You should've fought, fought to your last breath with your friends! If you really cared for that world, if you really wanted to be the god damn heroine, then you should've worked hard to become strong, strong enough to protect those you cherish most!"

Another burst of power. The wind roared past Rock's ears as she dodged.

"But what did you do?!" continued Ron, his voice getting angrier and angrier, "YOU RAN, THAT'S WHAT YOU DID! LEFT THE WORLD FOR DEAD IN THE HANDS OF YOUR SISTER YOU ABANDONED!"

"Shut up!" Neptune screamed as the next burst broke all of the glass of the surrounding buildings. "What do you know?!"

"Tch, that's what they all say. Rock get ready," Ron looked at his partner in confusion, "Hey, Rock? You okay?"

The paler girl continued to gaze at the Goddess with a face devoid of emotion, however Ron knew better than that. He knew that inside of her was a raging flame ready to purge anything in its path. It was determination, her will to put the CPU out of her misery. She took a step forward, her left eye unleashing a cobalt blue flame as her clothes reverted back to her normal ones in flash of blue.

"So this is what it feels like," she whispered, staring at the Goddess' raw power, "Despair… The feeling of hopelessness."

Rock grabbed Ron by his tail, yelping as he transformed himself into a sword, "I hate it…"

Neptune pointed her own sword towards Rock, "I won't… fail them…Say, Rock… If you give me an interesting boss fight and I lose… I'll go with you quietly."

"I don't want to fight you," replied the Black Star, hefting up her Black Blade.

"What are you saying, dummy?" giggled the Goddess with a smile, "It's your job. No one but you can do it. Please, I want you to make this the best fight ever. I'll… be very disappointed if you die too fast. So fight, fight me with the best of your ability!"

"Enough talk then, let's go!" yelled Ron as Rock dashed towards Neptune, slashing down on her foe.

* * *

The Goddess parried the Black Star's strike and followed with a slash of her own. Her opponent dashed just out of her sword's reach and transformed her own weapon into what looked like a cannon. Wind tore through the air on her left as the bullet barely missed her face. Neptune charged at Rock, sword raised, striking not once but three times as the pale girl blocked with her cannon. The Black Star dislodged herself from the CPU and spun around, forcing Neptune to jump away.

Rock used that moment to shoot the Goddess down but was mildly surprised as all of her bullets were slashed apart with ease. She kept firing her cannon relentlessly yet it seemed like her opponent was as just as skillful as she was, either evading the bullets by the last second or cutting them up. Neptune jammed her sword unto the floor, unleashing a purple burst of power which tossed Rock off her feet.

"You're not going to beat that way!" she shouted as she yanked her sword out.

The flame eyed girl tumbled along the street before coming to a halt. Her body shook as she struggled to lift herself up again. She picked up her cannon and aimed at the Goddess once more. Neptune, knowing what was going to happen next, dashed forward for the kill while preparing herself to dodge. She was caught off guard when Rock pointed her cannon downwards, using the recoil to jump high into air. The CPU missed and only managed to cut a street light in half. A tap behind her sprang her internal alarm, causing her to strike and parry alternately against Rock's attacks.

The two crossed blades, hacking, slashing, stabbing and lunging. The pavement in which the stood was soon filled with cuts and blade marks.

The Black Star blocked the CPU's sword strike yet did not see the stray kick sent to her stomach. Rock doubled over, giving Neptune the chance to barrage her with thrusts and slashes. She continued her assault as her foe helplessly blocked her attacks. She used her brute strength to knock the Black Star into the air, following suit with a jump before slamming Rock into the ground with an axe kick.

"Ugh," groaned the fallen girl as she picked up her sword.

"Get up! You need to fight back!" yelled Ron.

Neptune landed just a few feet away from her, walking confidently before sending a might swing of her sword. Rock raised her own weapon in defense; however the sheer power of the Goddess was too much for her to take, sending her fly once more.

"Pull yourself together, dammit!" cursed her partner as she struggled to regain her vision, "Here she comes!"

She ran towards the speeding Goddess and kicked off the ground; landing just behind the CPU's back and attacking. She followed with a couple of horizontal slashes before locking swords with Neptune once more. Rock's flame burned with renewed intensity as she delivered a kick to her opponent's stomach, spinning low to avoid the counter attack while sending her own. A cut appeared upon Neptune's side as the Black Star moved away.

The Goddess gritted her and summoned her gun, firing at the dashing girl before her as she too moved.

"Ron!" shouted Rock, causing her sword to transform into a cannon and unleash a barrage of blue bullets.

The city turned into a warzone at that instant.

Despite their small size, Neptune's bullets caused craters to decorate the ground as if hit by a dump truck. Rock retaliated with her Cannon; however it seemed that despite her higher advantage with power, she didn't have the Goddess' maneuverability with her weapon. Still didn't save the buildings from collapsing because of her shots.

"Rock, get to higher ground, we'll snipe her from there," ordered Ron as he fired off more bullets, "Keep her busy before you jump though, wouldn't want her to know what we're planning."

"Understood," replied Rock, skidding to a halt before charging her cannon.

Neptune never saw it coming, though she was fortunate enough to dive to the side. A shining blue bullet tore through the air, destroying the road with it shockwave. She quickly recovered and fired her own gun at the spot where Rock was, however once the smoke cleared, her opponent was no longer there.

"Ah!" Neptune shielded herself as the area around her began to explode. With the smoke and shrapnel shooting around, she couldn't pinpoint the location of her opponent amidst the confusion.

_**BOOM**_

_**BOOM**_

That is until she located the source of the noise. Neptune hid her gun away and tightened her grip on her sword. She kicked the ground once and shot into the air. Rock fired one bullet after the other, only to cease her actions and retreat backwards. She watched as the Goddess obliterated the platform she was standing on with sword in hand. Neptune closed in her foe and slashed while the Black Star settled for blocking with her cannon.

Rock pushed the CPU away and fired a shot, causing the Goddess to block instinctively. Bad move.

The rooftop in which they were fighting in exploded, taking a huge chunk of the floor. The two combatants were now engage in an aerial sword fight, steel clashing against steel in their struggle for dominance. The flame eyed girl was the first to retreat, sliding down the glass windows while using the chance to fire her newly transformed cannon. Neptune seemed to have similar ideas and unleashed her bullets.

Seeing that she was falling too fast, the Black Star aimed her cannon against the window and fired, using the recoil to travel down to the street below. She rolled as she landed and continued her assault against the Goddess.

"Damn, she just won't stay down, won't she?" commented Ron.

"She's a Goddess, she's different," replied Rock with the same neutral expression.

Soon enough, the CPU walked out of the smoke while deflecting and cutting down any bullets aimed at her. She slashed diagonally on an oncoming bullet and drove her sword on the pavement, causing a small purple explosion to burst forth. Rock covered her eyes with her arms from the blinding light.

"I'll show you my true power," said Neptune's voice from within the light.

"Uh, that doesn't sound good," growled Ron as he and Rock struggled to see what was happening. It was only when the light died did they see what happened to Neptune. In the Goddess' place hovered a purple black aircraft of some sort, glowing with an ominous vibe.

"This is getting ridiculous!" yelled the shape shifting snake as Rock turned tail and ran. The aircraft's thrusters roared to life and began to follow the Black Star with frightening speed. It opened two hatches on its front where two turrets poked their heads out, soon firing a continuous stream of purple bullets like a machine gun. Rock ran as far as her otherworldly speed could take her, diving into the pavement as Neptune flew overhead.

"Ron!" shouted Rock and soon her sword transformed into not one, but two black cannons.

She planted her left foot behind her and began firing one charge shot after another. Ducking low as the aircraft passed overhead, Rock continued her assault, running forward to meet with the vehicles own bullets. Just as she was about level with it, she shot both of her cannons to the floor giving her enough lift to land direct on top of the aircraft. Her weapons transforming into the Black Blade, Rock was about to jam her sword on its wing when her world began to spin and she started to fall.

The Black Star crashed into the street, a crater surrounding her.

Shaking off the fall she just received, Rock surveyed the area for her opponent. There was this weird buzzing noise that seemed to cause her heart to beat faster. Whatever it was, it was something bad, very bad.

"Run!" cried her partner, and so she did. She knew better than to question him during battle.

That was when a grand purple laser beam came down from the heavens to destroy the spot where she was standing It didn't seem to stop there so she continued to run for her life, not daring to look back. If she were a normal person she would have been long dead for the beam was moving at the speed of a car. Rock heard the beam's noise pounding against her ears as she forced herself to go faster, sweat running down from her brow down to her chin. With a surge of renewed strength she sprinted towards the street on her right, barely avoid the laser as it passed.

She stared at the destruction it had wrought and sighed in relief. That was way too close for her comfort.

The Black Star suddenly tensed for a moment before swinging her sword around, however a foot soon connected with her side. She looked up to Neptune back in her HDD form, gazing down at her, sword on her throat.

"It's over…" said the CPU, sure of her victory.

"Not yet," grunted Rock as the flame on her eye blazed stronger. She managed to kick the hand holding the sword upward, leaving a light cut on her cheek but she didn't care. She then grabbed her own weapon which transformed into a cannon, immediately charging a shot. Neptune was blown off her feet as the bullet hit her at point blank range.

The Black Star rose to her feet despite her body's protests, urging Ron to revert back into a sword. The Goddess too stood up, breathing hard as she clutched her stomach, though otherwise unhurt. They walked towards each other and swung their swords. Rock moved quick and in one fluid motion, twisted her hand and knocked Neptune's sword out of her grasp. She then placed her own blade upon the CPU's throat.

She stared at the purple head with an unreadable expression before asking, "Why didn't you counter?"

"I… Don't know myself," answered Neptune with a sad chuckle, "I guess. It really won't do any good if I continued fighting."

"Heh, now you're talking sense," commented the sword, "But… Why? You seemed pretty stubborn about not coming with us."

"I did say that I'll go with you if you give me a good boss fight," said the Goddess with a smile, "And boy howdy, that was one worth remembering." She then turned her back towards the Black Star and gazed at the city around her. Rock caught sight of a tear travelling down the CPU's cheek, "None of this is real anyway. It's not like I'll be coming back to life, right? I'm dead, that's there all to it."

"You're right," confirmed Ron, "Nothing goes out of this Crevice. This world was built to house the desires and greed of the souls trapped within. That's the purpose of the Threshold, in a way, it provides one final pleasure for the ones here before they ascend. Then again, this world also houses the darkest of dreams. But you, Lady Purple Heart, you solely wish nothing more than to return home, am I right? That is why this world, this delusion of yours was created in the image of your home. A home where you would be able to relive your past self. However, dear Goddess, just as easily you left your mortal coil, you must learn to leave your own past and move on."

"Guess you hit the nail on the head," Neptune wiped a tear from her eye as she forced herself to smile, "This… This is just silly. I can't be a strong CPU by crying like a baby. I'm just... worried about my sister."

"Well, me and Rock here may not be the best people to talk about these things but…" Ron paused for a moment, "You gotta put some faith on your own blood. Surely your sister wouldn't let you down that easily."

Rock lowered her weapon and approached Neptune. Dropping Ron and wrapping her arms around a surprised Goddess.

"R-Rock!?"

"Trust… her… No need to cry," whispered the Black Star, "Throw away despair…"

She was surprised at first by the girl's actions, but soon returned the hug as tears left her eyes. Neptune's laugh echoed across the deserted streets of Planeptune once more.

* * *

The Black Star was now walking along a barren checkered landscape, the wind howling past her ears. She looked up and gazed at the green sky as if searching for something. Her snake-like companion gliding beside her, he then broke the silence between them.

"Well?" he asked, "What do you think of that conclusion?"

"Strange," replied the girl, "She was different… Do you think?"

"Yeah, I can agree with you," said Ron as he nodded, "A first for the Threshold. She wasn't able to ascend in the end."

Rock was silent as she came to a halt. Her companion tilting his head in confusion. Neptune, she was gone now. Disappeared into a far off place never to be seen again.

"Hey don't look so glum," said Ron in an attempt to cheer her up, "You remember my theory, right?"

"Yes," Rock approached a broken log imbedded on the floor and sat on it, "She's… a Goddess. A strange, eccentric Goddess."

"And it's because of that she can't be purified," added Ron, "Goddesses are divine beings, and divine beings in general are pure. Purifying a divine being would just be redundant so that's the reason why she can't be captured. She wasn't a stagnant soul to begin with…"

"That's why… No soul was left behind when she disappeared," said Rock, "I hope… We can meet again."

Ron stared at his partner for a moment before releasing a sigh, "Come on. We've wasted enough time, so this isn't the moment to be slacking off. I'm sure she's back in her world, where she belongs. She was never meant to be here in the first place."

The Black Star continued to stare at the sky.

"Oi, let's get going! Dead's harassing another soul again!" yelled the snake, to which Rock jumped down her seat and follow suit.

"Yeah, let's go."

* * *

_Nicolas Notes: Greetings to one and all, Hyperdimension Neptunia and Black Rock Shooter fandoms!_

_First of all, this is my first time writing for both fandoms so please if there were any inconsistencies or mistakes, please forgive me. I'm still a newbie when tested in the knowledge about both franchises. _

_I really thought long and hard about the plot other than writing a clash fic between Neptune and Rock. Lots of research needed to be done for me to connect the two fandoms. Than go for Conquest Ending and Innocent Soul._

_Ah I almost forgot, I took the liberty on rewriting a few things regarding the Conquest End. Lots of liberations. Please excuse me for that, heh. Then again, this fic has spoilers for that ending, woops. _

_I do hope everyone was in character during this story, well everyone except HDD Neptune since she still has Human Neptune's personality despite being in Goddess mode as pointed out by Illusion Histoire. Gah, man this took a week to write._

_I'm entertaining the notion writing a few Neptunia fics, though that may not be for a long time until I finish my Touhou stories. Feel free to check them out (SHAMELESS ADVERTISING ALERT, SHOOT ME NOW BEFORE I GO IN A ROLL)_

_Again I would like to thank you for taking your time on reading this. All mistakes are my own since I didn't pre-read this to anyone other than myself. Boy, sure hope some kind soul would make a stable Neptunia forum so I can ask people there. The Wiki's not reliable, nope nope._

_Read, review, share your thoughts and spread the word. I shall light the fandoms with my talents if I can._

_Until next time._

_Yahoo~_


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh god damn it, why is it we always have the cold places!? Seriously, I think HQ is messing with us!"

Rock turned her gaze into the clear blue sky. Snowflakes floated down from the heavens, covering the landscape in a thick blanket of white. She gazed at her gloved hands and blew a hot breath into them to keep herself warm. It wasn't her first time experiencing snow; it was until very recently she met with a girl who lived within a village under the same conditions. Closing her eyes for a moment to ring herself back to reality, Rock opened them only be greeted with the sight of a landscape riddled with light Blue Mountains, a sunny bright sky and a colourful scenery.

"Familiar," muttered the Black Star as she gazed at the land before them, her hot breath rising into the air as smoke.

Her snake-like partner, Ron, glided to her side and nodded his head in agreement, "Yeah. Now that you've mentioned it, this place kinda looks familiar. You been here before, Rock?"

The girl gave him no answer and simply trudged on. The snake not expecting a reply followed suit, slithering through the air despite the lack of wings. At the back of the Black Shooter's mind, something was insistently tugging at her memory. It told her that she caught sight of this place once, she just didn't know when or where. Sure the snow was not foreign to her, but for some reason she felt a twinge of nostalgic sadness welling up within her.

_I'm dead, that's there all to it._

She clutched her hand over her chest. A friend once told her that, a friend who became very dear to her despite their short meeting. Rock truly hoped they would see each other again, yet she had more pressing matters at hand. It didn't help when just after saving Dead from a love sick soul were she suddenly called to this mission. Ron commented one that they couldn't catch a break for at least two minutes. But then again, maybe Rock did need this. She needed something to focus her mind on, to wash away the sad memories on her past Soul Hunt.

"Snow, snow everywhere," grumbled Ron, "If I'm guessing right, the people here are going to offer us smoothes for lunch, maybe some ice cream for dinner, or frozen fish for breakfast. Geez, what kind of soul is stubborn enough to create a whole illusion like this? Bah, stupid souls..."

The girl tried to hide it, but if Ron ever opened his loud mouth one more time he'll be nothing more than a star at the distance, so it took a bit of her will power to keep her expression neutral. The two companions soon came across a sign which bore the City's name.

"Lowee, huh?" said the snake, flying up close to the words etched in bronze, "Now why does that sound familiar?"

He then turned to look at Rock who breathed one name, "Neptune..."

* * *

"Hurry Rom!"

"Wait, please. I'm exhausted!"

"There's no time for that, here she comes!"

Two little girls ran along the deserted streets, holding each other's hands while running as fast as they could as if chased by something monstrous. The leading girl had bright pink hair and weary blue green eyes, her sandals spattering mud on her bottle green dress as she ran. In tow was another girl almost identical to her in terms of appearance and fashion, the only difference was that her hair was sky blue while her tear filled eyes were pink. Her bright pink dress had dirt smeared across her skirt.

The blue haired one let go of her sibling's hand and leaned against a wall. It seemed like she overexerted herself running all day seeing that her breathing was shallow and that her knees were trembling so much that they were threatened to collapse at any moment. Her sister turned back and went to her side, tugging on her arm.

"We'll rest later, for now we gotta run! Come on, just a little bit more!" urged the pink haired girl in desperation.

Steeling her will, the other girl nodded slowly and followed her sister. They turned sharply to the right before climbing up a steel staircase up a building. The blue girl dared to glance back down, immediately regretting it as she saw the silhouette of a two horned demon with large arms on the wall, ever coming closer. She was then wrenched back to reality when her sister violently grabbed her arm in panic. They ran above the rooftop, kicking the door leading into the building and rushing inside.

The two paused for a moment to regain their breath. Their little hearts beating faster than what should have been considered healthy. Needless to say, this day sucked from the moment they woke up that morning. The pink haired girl was the first to recover, taking a glance at her sister as she wiped sweat from her brow.

"Rom, you okay now?" she asked in concern. She was so terrified that she didn't care for her sister's condition, seeing her sister struggle to breathe made her a bit guilty.

"I'm okay, Ram… Don't worry," reassured Rom, though her body collapsing against the canary yellow wall and down the carpeted floor said another story. It didn't take long for the other girl to collapse too. Ram's limbs felt sore from all the running. She was so drained of energy that she couldn't even lift a finger. The only reason she hadn't collapsed like her sister yet was that she was running on sheer willpower and fear. Whatever it was chasing them, it wasn't something that would bake them cookies before eating them.

She had to get her sister way from that thing. No matter what happened, she had to protect her sister. Blanc wouldn't it her hear the end of it if she lost Rom.

They had to get away, far away. Bad enough that they couldn't use their powers even though they were in HDD. Fighting back proved no use, fear sank its fangs unto them whenever they tried, causing them to run like hell. Setting traps against that thing wouldn't work either. It seemed smart enough to avoid or bypass it all together. The worst part is that they had no idea what it looked like. It was like that monster was playing tricks on them, it was scary.

All they could do was run. Run across their own home chased by something nigh unkillable. They were on their own.

Ram's attention was then turned to Rom who was quietly sobbing in the corner. She crawled on all fours towards her sister, too tired to even stand up. She gave Rom a hug just to comfort her, it was all she could do, maybe this nightmare would go away and they would be waking up any moment. Unfortunately, it didn't end yet on the bright side Rom had stopped sobbing.

"Come on, we have to go," said Ram as she slowly got up. She offered a hand to her sister who gladly took it. The two girls were about to exit the hallway when the wall before them exploded, exposing the blue brick walls of the next building. However what froze them both on their tracks was the fact that there was floating black skull with acid green eyes staring back at them.

It roared.

Much to the pink haired girl's surprise, a flower vase flew past her shoulder and hit the skull dead on the forehead. She was then dragged backwards by her sister, kicking down another door leading into a staircase. Ram was still shocked at both the skull's appearance and her sister's quick thinking. A smile grew across her lips as she watched Rom take the lead for now.

They burst through another door and into another alleyway. The two putting all of their strength into their legs just to keep running. That's when another black skulls fell from the sky, right in front of them. Ram yelped and quickly pulled Rom back. Just as they were about to go the other way another skull came crashing down, glaring menacingly at them while a flower was dangling limply on its head.

"Dammit!" cursed Ram as she and her sister stood back to back. They were caged in, no way out. Her eyes travelled to her right, maybe they could go back inside the building. Moving fast, she grabbed Rom's hand and charged into the open door, only to get blown back by…something.

"Ah, ah, ah~ Good girls need to stay put, you know?" said a sweet voice from within. A young woman with the same acid green gaze as the skulls walked out from the building. She had a kind smile on her face, yet her horns and tiny wings sticking out of her back betrayed the appearance. The girl wore a sleeveless shirt along with a black tie that had a star embroidered on it her, complimenting her black belt and white skirt along with her leggings. Her long gloved hands were hidden behind her as she leaned forward, trying to look harmless despite the fact of two enlarge bone heads were blocking the exits.

"W-w-what do you want f-from us, y-y-yo-you Old hag!?" cried Rom as she clutched her sister tightly.

"Yeah, we….we didn't do nothing to you! So why chase us, huh?!" Ram yelled defiantly, yet her attempt was casually ignored by the green eyed girl with her sickly sweet smile. The way this person was looking at them, it reminded the sisters of that time when a disgusting robot took interest in them. However this time, it felt just… wrong.

The horned girl uttered a poorly suppressed giggle, leaning back and pointing her index finger at the twins, "I want you. Both of you~"

_She's just like Trick!_ Ram squealed within her mind as Rom clutched her tighter.

"Ram, I'm scared!" sobbed the blue haired girl, burying her face on her trembling sister's shoulder.

"Skull-chan, crush them!" ordered the green eyed menace, the skulls levitating into the air with their maws wide open. With a roar, the two boneheads charged straight forward with the intent of smashing the little girls into paste.

Ram closed her eyes and hugged her sister back, _We're about to die again…_

_**CLANG**_

Confused at the strange noise, the pink haired girl opened her eyes by an inch, before finally going wide eyed in shock. A girl landed in front of them, stretching what looked like cannons on either side of her body, just in time to stop the skulls in mid-air. What Ram found fascinating about the sight was not the newcomer's clothing or that of her gigantic weapons, it was her eyes. Clear as the ocean and blazing like a burning furnace. Did I mention that she meant the 'blazing' part literally?

One of the girl's eyes was engulfed in a mysterious blue flame.

Two things happened at that instant. The twins heard something click before yelping in surprise as the cannons unleashed two devastating bullets into the skulls' forehead at point blank range, knocking them backwards from whence they came from. The newcomer's left hand began to glow bright blue for a second before transforming back into a normal arm, leaving the right cannon to be aimed directly at the horned girl's face.

_**BOOM**_

Soon the blue eyed girl's right arm changed back into a normal one, leaving behind a black snake like creature with no distinguishable eyes. Rubble and dust filled the building's exit, not even the door was spared from the destruction the Rock Cannon made. She turned her attention towards the twins gazing at them with a expressionless face, yet it was the snake creature who spoke.

"Oi, you girls alright?" he asked. Yes, it was a he, judging from its voice. The twins looked at it with mixed reactions; disbelief, complete utter shock, confusion, fear, awe, and surprise. The two of them sank to their knees, still holding each other close.

"I'll take that as a yes," muttered the snake.

"Ron," called the girl with her hand outstretched. Ron glided towards the girl and burst into blue light, only to turn into an elegant black sword.

"Stay behind us," ordered the snake-turned-sword, causing the twins to give a slack jawed nod.

The blue eyed girl gripped her sword before turning to face the rubble filled building exit. Everything ceased to move. It seemed like the entire world held its breath, waiting. The wait was over before it even began. The horned girl from earlier burst through the rubble, a strange three headed sword in hand. Her face contorted into an emotion of glee, she happily struck the blue eyed girl. The newcomer met her strike by slashing upwards with her right hand, locking the two combatants for a brief moment.

"Hello Rock, fancy seeing you here~" sang the green eyed girl, her face still showing that unwavering smile.

"Dead," muttered the blue eyed girl, planting a foot behind her before pushing Dead away from her. The horned girl merely landed on a wall, kicking off it towards another one .She repeated this movement until she was at the very top of the building, looking down on Rock and the twins.

"Now aren't you rude," teased Dead as she set her sword beside her. "Ahh~ I think this is fate! We just came back from one mission only to meet up with each other on another one! Destiny calls for us, Rock my dear."

"Go to hell!" yelled the black sword, causing Rock to involuntary point its blade towards the horned girl. Dead merely stuck her tongue out and jumped off the building to be caught by her flying skulls.

"I'll be seeing you soon~" she called as she flew away on her undead steed.

Ron transformed back into his snake form as Rock released a heavy sigh. That girl had caused enough trouble for them to last a year. They didn't know how long they should put up with her antics. Once they cleared their minds a bit after the commotion, the two companions finally turn their attention to the trembling twins. An area lacking two trembling twins.

"…."

"Ron, calm do—"

"THEY GAVE US THE SLIP!" roared the snake, only to be silence when his partner clamped his mouth tight with her bare hands.

"Split up," suggested the blue eyed girl as she struggled to keep Ron's mouth shut. He thrashed widely like the snake he was for a moment before finally calming down, Rock released her hold on him so that he could hover at her side.

"You're right… Take the roofs, I'll search on the ground," said the snake, turning his head at his companion, "Remember, we need to get them before Dead does. Who knows what she'll do to them if they get caught."

Rock nodded in agreement before launching herself into the air. She kicked against the walls as she ascended; much like Dead did before her, finally landing on the rooftop of a building. A chilly breeze immediately greeted her. She looked up into the gray sky as snowflakes began to fall once more. The Black Star thought about the state of the twins' dresses and concluded that it won't do for them running around like that.

Nudging the concerned thoughts out of her head, she approached the edge of the roof to get a clearer view of the city she was in. Due to her haste on arriving in time to save the twins, she didn't have the time to go sightseeing. Rock has seen her fair share of strange, yet it was only now did she look upon houses shaped as mushrooms. She blinked in confusion as she thought on who would build such a thing. For some reason, the mushroom houses looked familiar.

Shops made out of glass panes and normal looking stores were tucked together, leaving much space on the frozen streets. The Blue Mountains surrounded this city since one would see them perfectly at this kind of height, Rock could see their snow-capped peaks from afar. It was strange, weird, and surreal. Totally out of this world even by the Threshold's standards. There could only be one answer to this, and she could clearly guess what it was.

She caught sight of something moving inside an alley about two blocks from her position. Not wasting any more time, she sprinted across the roof, kicked off the metal railing and leapt off the building. The freezing air stung her cheeks as she travelled above the ground, before in a roll on top of another roof. Releasing a brief huff, she ran once more jumping from one building to another with little effort. Rock only slowed her pace as she stealthily tailed two moving figures below her.

She jumped off one more building and landed with the ground cracking beneath her. The twins skidded to a halt, the blue haired girl taking a flower vase out of nowhere and prepared to throw it. Rock's eyes went wide and immediately raised her hands in surrender. Good thing too since the vase almost flew.

The pink haired one got in front of her twin and defiantly spread her arms on either side of her body, probably to shield her sister from Rock. The blue haired one was content in hiding behind her sister, though the vase she wielded was still prepared to be tossed. The three of them stared at each other for a few moments that were until the Black Star extended her hand towards them in greeting. Rom and Ram gazed at the gesture in confusion, stealing a glance at each other without saying a word.

Finally Rock broke the silence, "Not here… to hurt… you."

"H-H-How should we know t-that you're not playing a prank on us?" questioned Ram, trying to look brave yet only to fail on it as her knees trembled. "We saw that woman earlier; don't think that we'll go trusting you that easily just because you saved our skins!"

"G-Go away," Rom mumbled timidly as she raised her vase higher.

"Please, don't… be afraid…" replied the Black Star, taking a step forward. "Trust me…"

The twins cringed as she approached, forcing the blue eyed girl to realize her mistake and retreat a few paces. She exhaled through her nose; this was going to be harder than she thought. She had to calm them down, make them listen somehow. But seeing them like this, Rock knew that forcing them into something will only go nowhere so it was out of her options. She looked back at her past experiences with souls and she found out that she had no encounters with the souls of children.

She noted in her mind that this was somehow a first for her.

"Ah, there you are," called a male voice, which was soon revealed to be from Ron who was slithering his way through the air. He came to a halt just across Rock, directly a few paces away from behind the twins, making the two sisters appear as if they were surrounded. Needless to say, the blue haired one didn't take this lightly and panicked. Proceeding to lobbing a heavy vase into Ron's clueless head. Fortunately for him he managed to dodge it at the last minute, but he was anything but happy.

"What the hell was that for?!" he yelled angrily, "I didn't do anything to you, so why throw a freaking vase at me!? Geez, the nerve of kids these days!"

"Ron, stop it," snapped the Black Star before her companion went on a rant. It was bad enough to have these girls see them as hostiles.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," grumbled the snake before turning his attention back at the twins looking at him warily, "Oi, kids, we're not going to hurt you, okay? As weird as we look, you guys aren't doing any better, so why not answer a few questions and then we can all go about our lives. Sounds good, no?"

"Of course not!" yelled the pink haired one, "You expect us to go with a complete stranger and a…. snake?! No way we're gonna do that!"

"S-Snake?! Dammit, I'll show you sna—"

The blue eyed girl walked past the two girls and grabbed her partner by the neck, gripping it hard before throwing him with all her might into a wall. Ram and Rom watched in horror as Ron slowly slid down the wall and directly into a trash bin. Rock turned her to look at the twins whom stared at her with wide eyes.

"I need to ask you if you know someone named Neptune."

* * *

Déjà vu, the feeling of repetition, that was the feeling Rock was experiencing at the moment. She sat inside a fancy restaurant accompanied by two little girls she never knew or spoke to before. In front of her was enough food for a feast, only this time it was only her eating. The two girls in front of her were strangely quiet as she munched on her muffin. She savoured its texture and flavour before swallowing, followed by a glass of red wine. Delicious.

It was weird though, the entire city was deserted. Not a single Silhouette or people walking its streets. There was no one to serve the food so they had to get it from the kitchen; fortunately the food there was ready to eat. An eerie idea came across the three girls as they got their food, if there was no one around, then who kept the food warm as if freshly cooked?

So here they were, engulfed in an awkward silence as Rock ate and ate.

An anger vein popped on Ron's head before he used his tail to smack his partner upside the head, "Oi! Will you stop eating!?"

The twins jumped at his sudden outburst. True to his word, the Black Star ceased her consumption of food, that's because her head was buried face first into a chocolate cake. It seemed like the blue eyed girl was knocked out cold, Ron bore no qualms on his actions. Instead he faced the twins and fixed his voice.

"Ahem, hello there," he greeted as politely as he could, "My name is Ron and this glutton here is my partner Rock. We were just passing by and somehow recognized you being harassed by… one of our colleagues. We would like to extend our deepest apologies for her actions as well as my partner's tactless behaviour. Um, may I know your names?"

The girls had a brief exchange with their eyes, deciding whether to answer or not. They had already agreed to go peacefully to talk about a few things; it would be rude to not even give their names when the….snake gave his own as well as his partner's. They needed answers, and these two beings were the answers they were looking for, vice versa.

"M-My name is Ram," the pink haired girl introduced herself before gesturing at her sister, "And this is my sibling; Rom. We're CPU candidates in this Landmass; Lowee."

"Ram, huh?" pondered the snake. If he had a face, he would've given the girl a suspicious look.

"I-Is something wrong?" she asked timidly, squirming under the snake's invisible gaze.

"What? Oh nothing," replied Ron, "It's just we know another person that goes by the name of Ram. Anyway, CPU candidates? Pardon our ignorance, but what are those?"

"Ah, y-you and your friend are probably foreigners," said Ram, "well… Um, how do I explain this….?"

"CPU candidates are those working to be the next CPU should the current one step down," Rom helpfully answered, though in a quiet tone. She finished in a low tone, barely audible, "Or die…"

"I… see then," Ron nodded in understanding.

"Anyway, h-how did you know about Miss Neptune?" inquired Ram while crossing her arms, "Isn't she supposed to be out there saving Gamindustri? How did you meet her? Is everything…all right?"

The pink haired girl ended in an uncertain tone to which her sister glanced at her with a worried expression. Ron remembered during the space warp inside Neptune's illusion. These were the same twins that she and her sister fought, subdued, and killed. The two girls in front of him now accepted death holding each other's hand. As sad as it was, he had to put his game face on. They left the world they lived in on the hands of someone they thought was capable of protecting it.

It would probably big news to them if they knew the truth.

Ron inhaled a deep breath as he said, "You are…aware, that you are dead, right?"

He braced himself, his tail coiled around Rock's arm in case something exploded. It was a miracle that nothing happened. Instead, it was Rom who confirmed it, "Yes. We both have memories of our past, what happened, and how we came here. We only have the problem of being chased by… that scary lady with the horns…. And not knowing where we are…"

"We died," Ram said sadly, "It hurt. It hurt a lot. It was the most painful thing I felt in my entire life…"

She lifted her head up, her jaw set straight, "if… you did meet Miss Neptune… here in this world… Then does that mean that she too…?"

"Yes, she's also dead," answered Ron, ignoring his blunt statement.

"T-then Gamindustri… Is lost?" breathed Rom, cupping her hand on her mouth.

"Ah…. About that," the snake wrapped his tail around his glass and sipped his wine before placing it down again to scratch his head, "Your world is safe. Don't worry."

"But… How?" asked Ram in disbelief.

"Well before we got to fight her, she sent us into a space warp of her past memories. Her regrets which she clung on to remain in this world," Ron breathed deeply, "Me and Rock here got a glimpse of her quest. Her mission to save this world, Gamindustri. We witnessed how one thing led to another and she was forced to kill her friends just to become powerful. I saw how she fought and beat you along with her sister, Nepgear I think her name was…. Heh, never thought I'd be complimenting a couple of stagnant souls, but you two were brave standing up and taking in the pain like that… Anyhow, she managed to eliminate the other Goddesses, after that she planned on killing her own sister, only to chicken out in the end."

"Huh? What did she do then?" questioned Ram confusion.

"She asked her sister to kill her," Ron answered simply.

The snake gulped and looked outside the window. Snow covered the streets and seemed to be falling more thickly than before, albeit in a slow gentle pace. The sky was still gray; the sun wasn't going to come out any soon and Dead was still lurking around. All he wanted was well deserved break, was that too much to ask? It sucked how he had to tell the sob story. He glanced at the twins' faces and somehow felt that their sadness was contagious. It was amazing how none of them cried.

The silence hung heavily over them. Rock was still unconscious yet alive, Ron knew since he noticed his partner's stomach rise and fall. It was funny how other people got to make the tough decisions while beings like him got to sit back and watch the show. These girls before him, they've been through rough times. He was lucky how he hadn't experience what they felt, at least maybe not yet. He's seen a lot of battles, fought a lot more in the hands of different partners, yet he never experienced sadness like this or at least witnessed people this depressed.

If it were any other soul he didn't to know more, he would've just ignored it and moved on. He cursed Neptune for getting close to Rock, and by proxy, him.

"Don't… worry…" Rock's form began to move as her muffled voice came through the cake. Her hand managed to grab a fist full of napkin and lift her head up, wiping it thoroughly, revealing her ever expressionless face. However there was softness in her tone, "She's... happy. She finally let go of despair…"

"Rock…" whispered Rom, "Do you really think so?"

The Black Star nodded.

"Hmph, well there goes that topic," griped Ron, "I've been meaning to ask though, how did Dead find you? How long was she chasing you around?"

Ram seemed uncomfortable at that, yet she still managed to answer, "We just woke up one morning in our HDD forms. Rom and I wondered why since we thought we were supposed to be dead. That's when that woman, Dead, wrecked our wall. We tried to fight yet for some reason; we always froze and ran the opposite direction. It was like she was controlling our fear or something. I swear she just came out of nowhere and started chasing us."

"We went to the next person who we thought who could help us," added Rom, her voice much more distinct and clear, "Our elder sister; Blanc. CPU of Lowee and commonly known as the Goddess; White Heart."

"Yet for some reason, she wasn't in her room, huh?" guessed the snake. The twins nodded in confirmation. "then it's like Neptune's case, she too didn't see her sister. Only illusions of people she knew in real life. There's the possibility that your sister isn't even in this Illusion you created. I mean you are stagnant souls after all…"

"Yes," agreed Ram, it seemed like she accepted _that_ fact, "But I could've sworn she was there. I mean, it was like she was whispering in our ears, calling out our names."

"Can… You hear her now?" asked Rock with her eyes narrowed.

The twins glanced at each other before saying in perfect unison, "Yes."

"Although faintly," added Ram.

"Alright, one more question and then we're done," announced Ron to which he gained a raised eye brow from his partner, "What? We got other businesses to attend to. Namely that stalker of yours. Ahem, anyhow, Ram and Rom…."

He lowered his voice and leaned close towards the twins, forcing them to lean on their chairs, "Why are you still here? Goddesses have no souls since they are divine beings… You could ascend to Heaven any time you want, and yet you still chose to stay here despite that… So my question is; Why are you still here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Ram slammed her fist on the table as she stood up, "I want my big sister back!"

"And we're not leaving without her," followed Rom, her face bearing a determined expression. "But… We know we won't find her ourselves. Please, help us!"

The snake stared at them for a couple of seconds before looking back at his partner. Rock's face remained neutral throughout the discussion so who knows what she was thinking. The twins seemed desperate in finding their sister no matter what the cost. Going as far as being bold enough to ask for a Black shooter's help. Ron released a sigh.

"Rock let's go, we're leaving," he said out of nowhere, gliding towards the exit. The blue eyed girl seemed surprised at first yet regained her composure, reluctantly following her partner. To say Ram and Rom were shocked at Ron's departure would be an understatement. Ram barely managed to say something that stopped the two companions on their tracks.

"W-W-Wait, why?" she stuttered, not daring to believe they can take off after all that. "A-Aren't you going to help?"

Unsurprisingly, it was the snake who answered, "Well, we got what we came for. You answered our questions and confirmed that you are Neptune's friends. Meaning that sooner or later you'll ascend with no problems whatsoever, what will you need our help for?"

"B-But Blanc," Rom didn't had the voice to finish the sentence, yet the idea was there.

"She'll be fine. Give it time and she'll come in terms with her death and ascend too," explained Ron, "You're Goddesses, so it's not like you'll have any reason to stay here and mope around. Besides, me and my partner have better things to do."

"Hey, you can't just say that!" snapped Ram, tears filling her blue green eyes.

"And why not?" huffed the snake, "Look, Goddess or no, we Black Shooters only take orders from HQ. We don't have the leisure time to go around solving the world's problems. Besides if we helped you, how would that be beneficially on our part? You're stagnant souls, heck even if we helped you, you wouldn't leave any souls for us to keep since you're Divine Beings. In the end, it's just a waste of effort on our part, right?"

"Yet you still helped Miss Neptune!" argued the pink haired twin.

"Correction," growled Ron, he was starting to lose his cool, "We just did our jobs. She ascended by her own volition, whereas you two are being immature and are doing nothing but finding excuses so you could stay here. You do realize that you can ascend anytime you want, right? Yet here you are…"

Ram didn't seem to have an answer for that and slumped back in her chair. Her sister stroked her hair in an attempt to comfort her, "It's… it's okay… We'll find her ourselves… Mister Ron, Miss Rock, sorry if we bothered you. You're right, this isn't important. It's okay…"

Rock blinked twice and glanced at her partner who merely sighed. There was nothing they could do; these two were the only ones who could do something to find their sister. Right now, she had to focus on finding Dead and dragging her by the hair out of this Illusion. The Black Star didn't want anyone interfering with the twins' mission. It was the least she could do.

"It's good that we've come to an understanding," said Ron with a nod and was about exit the restaurant.

At least that was intention.

The door burst open with a spectacular force, hitting the snake dead on the head and knocking him backwards. Rock raised her eyebrows and tilted her head to the left just to avoid her partner's flying body.

"Honey I'm home~" called a sweet girl's voice.

Ram and Rom immediately froze in fear. It was as if their blood ran cold as they sat on their chairs, staring at the person who had just entered the restaurant. Dead casually walked in with her ever present smile, clapping her hands and giggling like a school girl as she caught sight of the blue eyed girl, "Ah! Rock my love my darling, you're here again!"

Rock could only grimace as Dead embraced her and rubbed her face against her cheek. _Annoying_, the Black Star thought.

That was then the moment when the horned girl spotted the twins; she immediately tossed the girl in her arms aside and skipped her way to the frozen Ram and Rom. The pink haired girl had her mouth open as she stared at death itself. She was so scared that she couldn't move her body; it was like there was this aura constricting her windpipe making it hard for her to breathe. This feeling changed however as Dead said the following words while holding the little girl's hands.

"Now, now, don't cry little angel. Auntie Dead's going to help you find your sister," she announced without a care in the world. She then glanced beside her to the rising girl behind her, "We'll help them, right Rock?"

The Black Star's face was contorted in a scowl. Before she could even say anything, something rumbled from the mess of tables and chairs not too far from them. Ron burst out of the junk and into the air.

"What the hell was that for, lady?!" he roared angrily, breathing hard. "And what's this dragging Rock into something she doesn't have business with?! It's a complete waste of time!"

"Hmph, and you're saying you could say no to a face like this?" Dead pouted as she brought Ram close to her, burying the girl in her modest bust which caused said girl to blush, "How cold hearted of you."

"Tch, look this doesn't have anything to do with us," the snake turned his attention to his partner, "We're leaving."

"And leave these munchkins in my care?" teased the horned girl evilly, "You didn't even give me the chance to say something."

"It's not like it's anything important in the first place!"

"Ron…"

"Fine! What is it?" snapped Ron, twisting his body so he was facing Dead.

Smirking that the snake was now listening, she then let go of Ram and seated herself between to the twins, cuddling them as if they were stuffed toys. Rock felt a twinge of pity for the two girls as they were too afraid to even move an inch, so Dead hugged them both with no resistance whatsoever. "Well, I understand that you're greedy little snake that's so selfish that you won't help people out of pure compassion."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

The snake's words went unheeded as Dead went on, "So, if you think that you can't do this since it won't benefit yourself, then why not do it for the benefit of the Threshold?"

"What do you mean?" much everyone's surprise, it was Rock who asked.

"Goddesses, souls, and Shooters, it doesn't matter what kind of race lives within this godforsaken Crevice," the horned girl's smile seemed to widen, "It's that everything here is being corrupted. Now I know that you're looking at me weird since you're thinking I'm spouting out nonsense, yet I am not. Even as you say that Goddesses are Divine beings and that they can no longer be purified since they are already pure, it doesn't stop them from being corrupted by mortal desires… Call it a taint, an infection, or filth slowly distorting their Divinity, the longer they stay in this world, the more will their desires corrupt them."

"How do you know all of this?" questioned Ron. If he had a face he would've gritted his teeth.

"I have my ways," Dead winked at him, "Back on topic; I'll make these two as an example. Dears, what is it that you wish for?"

The question was directed towards the twins on either side of her. Ram seemed to have lost her voice the moment Dead approached her, meaning it was up to Rom to answer for the two of them, "We… We want to have our sister back…"

"Indeed," said the horned girl with a happy nod, "And it's because of this you have a reason to stay in this world, correct? But soon you'll realize that all of your efforts would be futile and you'll eventually give in to hopelessness. Based on my observations during our…. Initial encounter… You already proved that said desire is affecting you in different ways."

"L-Like how?" asked Ram in a fearful tone.

"Hmm let's see," Dead had a thoughtful look on her face before placing her index finger on the pink haired girl's head. Ram instantly froze, "There. You are afraid; fear is both an amazing tool and a horrible weapon. I take it that you're not easily scared back when you're alive, no? This just shows that your desire to be with an elder sibling, to be completely dependent on someone you trust, overcomes your usual emotions. It subconsciously pokes its ugly head out, thus restricting you from either fighting back or making good decisions. This restriction works also regarding your powers, reason why I haven't seen you curbstomp me with divine punishment. Honestly I could care less."

"But if what you say is true, then what of Neptune? I know you weren't there, but she still managed to use her full power against us," said Ron as he drifted to Rock's side.

"This is just a theory, but I think the Threshold affects the Goddesses in different ways. This goes to say that there's the possibility of other Divine entities being trapped here."

"Fine the. But if what you say that CPUs can be corrupted, then why wasn't Neptune corrupted when we met her?"

"It's simply because she was already corrupted, something acted as a trigger for it to unleash."

"You've been here the entire time, listening to our conversations, haven't you?" growled the snake.

"I like keeping tabs on Rock," Dead replied with a smile, yet her expression turns into a mocking one as she continued, "Now take note that I've only realized this just today, and not everything I say may be correct. However like a shotgun bullet, it doesn't mean at least one of them are right… Which brings me to another matter…"

"W-What is it?" asked Ram.

"We cannot waste any more time," stated Dead with a solemn look, "You guys remember that as time passes, the more corrupted the Goddess would be, right? Well this connects with what I said about the benefit of the Threshold. Should the Goddess become fully corrupted, then I don't think even the Black Shooters would be able to stand up to it. You see, as the Goddess becomes tainted, it only loses its Divine powers as the corruption progresses. Once its complete, then the Goddess would have the power of a stagnant soul only to regain its Divine powers back."

"Hold on, you sure you're not pulling these stuff out of nowhere?!"

"Of course not," replied the horned girl looking offended, "Skull-chan is there right now. Where this Blanc is. The transformation is nearing its completion and if we don't do something….."

She then waved her hand at Ron, "Then goodbye, Threshold~!"

* * *

Rom was worried. All she did today was wake up in the morning, brush her teeth, take a shower and dress up as always. She figured it was going to be another normal day until she realized her hair was blue. Everything spiralled out of control from that moment. She and her sister were forced to run for their lives, lost, scared, and confused. Not only was their elder sister missing, but also the people living within Lowee. The entire city was completely deserted save for them and…. That girl named Dead.

She didn't know what to think of that strange woman with the horns and levitating skulls. She was frightened yes, she felt a sense of evil and cruelty from the woman, yet despite all of this Dead acted like a nice person. Rom mentally bonked herself. This woman just chased them around the city with the intent of killing her and her sister. How could she be so nice as if nothing happened? The blue haired girl then concluded that that woman was not only weird and perverted, but also downright crazy.

A sigh escaped her lips. Mina always told her to stay away from people like that. She didn't know why Ram took interest to such people, yet it seemed like Dead was the only exception to that. She still wondered why the horned girl was trying her best to help out now. A change of heart? Did she hit her head or something? Or was it because of something…. Or someone…

Rom glanced at her side only to see the horned girl in question clutching a very disgruntled Rock's arm.

She quickly looked away into where she was walking. This day was certainly weird alright. Take in the fact that her sister actually commented that she was 'louder than usual'. Now that she thought of it, she did seem acting out of character. It wasn't normal for her to speak up or raise her voice. Maybe it was the effect of this 'weird corruption'?

Still, despite that, she wouldn't be as brave as her sister. All she did was speak up once in a while as Ram interacted more with these strangers. One of the few things she learned today was to back her sister up if she ever needed it, that's what siblings are for… That and throwing vases are effective against enemies.

Their party which consisted of four people, a snarky grumbling snake, and two floating skull head sentinels was now slowly approaching Lowee's main Basilicom. They passed by the yellow, red and green buildings as the snow steadily fell. It was amazing how this so call 'Threshold' could copy the exact same appearance of her old home. It was just as bright and colourful. The only thing missing was the bright smiles of the people passed by, the occasional Silhouette and the never ending foot traffic.

"Rom, you okay?" it was the voice of her sister, looking at her with concern. "um, you look like you're about to cry again…"

The blue haired girl wiped her eyes. Sure enough, they seemed to feel wet. She shook her head and gave her sister a small smile, "I'm...okay. Don't worry…"

"Alright then, just remember that in an hour we'll get to see Blanc again," said Ram with confidence. Yes, the two Black Shooters lagging behind them were going to help find and bring back Blanc. Now all they needed to do was head back to the Basilicom and search for the source of their elder sister's voice. Rom could hear her if she strained her ears. Blanc was calling to them, whispering their names over and over as if pleading them for help.

Back in the restaurant, their sister's voice could only be heard faintly yet now it seemed like it was growing louder and louder until it was at the background of their hearing.

"Yes," replied Rom as she and her sister continued to lead the party. She suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.

"So," began Dead, lowering her head between the twins, "What kind of person was this Blanc, hm? Surely you can tell me she's worth saving, right?"

"I-I suppose so," Ram replied, struggling beneath the horned girl's grip.

"Well tell away~" sang Dead with a smile.

Rom looked behind her and found an unconscious Rock being slapped awake by Ron. She turned her attention back to her sister as she began to speak.

"Blanc is…" the pink haired girl thought for a moment before continuing, "Well, she may not be the best sister in the world, but she's a really good one. She may get angry at times, throw a tantrum, and spit around her colourful vocabulary, but in truth… She's really shy and only wants to make friends. Those times when she gets angry, it's sometimes our fault. You see, Blanc rarely smiles. She's usually busy trapped in her own world, reading and writing; often does she skip meals and lock herself inside her room. Whenever she's out though, the house never gets a time of peace. She would yell, I would laugh, and Rom would cry, everything… It was good. It just got better when… Miss Nepgear came along…"

"I see…" said the horned girl, though curiosity continued to shine in her eyes, "What happened then? It seems like Blanc and this Nepgear were important to you."

"Nepgear was the one who killed us," admitted Ram with her head hung low, "Her sister, Neptune, she killed Blanc. They were the ones who sent us here…"

"Hmm, cruel and evil they are… You friends and yet they still killed you? Why if I were to meet them I would give them a piece of my mind!"

"Ah, no!" cried Rom, she immediately covered her mouth as Dead directed her attention to the blue haired girl with a look of confusion. The girl blushed and looked away as she said, "T-T-They were only doing what… Was right. They weren't really… E-Evil… They needed our power so we gave it to them…It was for the good of Gamindustri, you see. We had no choice…"

The horned girl then giggled, "That's… cute… What kind of monster would go by that cold and disgusting logic? Even I have my standards…"

"L-Like I said we had no choice…" explained the blue haired girl in a sad tone. "Our friends, family, we had to leave them all behind for the sake of that world. E-Even if we're just this small… We wanted to make a difference. Me and my sisters, we worked hard…"

Rom faltered in her words as a lump grew in her throat, giving Ram the chance to catch her, "That's why we gave our life for Gamindustri. We wanted to prove we were strong, think what you like, but in the end, our world was saved. That…" She held her sister's hand, "Is all that mattered to us…"

"We knew the risks," added Rom as she squeezed her sister's hand.

Dead patted their shoulders before letting them go, walking on ahead as the Basilicom revealed itself. Rom could've sworn she saw the girl wear a different smile, almost a sad one.

* * *

"We're here," announced Ron as the group entered through the Basilicom's unlocked doors. Dead's skulls stood guard outside while the snake flew around in search for anything unusual. Rock had to blink her eyes to adjust to the floor's yellow light. Rows upon rows of benches were sitting at the sides, making an open path towards what looked like an altar. She slowly approached it while noting the ever gray sky above the glass. It was like a church, a very futuristic church…

For some reason she could recall a vague memory of another church with chains and something about Dead. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, good thing it was the time Ram choice to say something.

"We're getting closer!" she called, "Follow us!"

"Ron."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going…"

The snake and the two Black Stars then tailed the twins as they entered through a wide door which led into a large corridor with smooth gray walls and purple coloured floor. Lanterns hung on the wall's sides, lighting the path along with glass windows above, allowing light to enter. Rock took the lead with Ron beside her, Dead was content running behind with a stupid smile on her face. The blue eyed girl couldn't shake the feeling that her colleague was thinking of something indecent.

The twins came to a halt in front of another door, pressing what looked like a pass code to which the door opened. They quickly ran inside followed by Rock and her group. Finally they seemed to reach their destination. They were now in what looked like a real cathedral styled room. The windows were made out of stained glass, casting out purple beams of light upon the few rows of benches. The trimmings of the walls and edges of the room were coloured gold. Upon what looked like the altar was a large circle with golden streaks branching out of it.

If the previous room was a futuristic church, now this was a fancy church. Too fancy for Rock's tastes.

"So, Dead, what do we do now?" questioned Ron as he hovered beside his partner.

"Now? We do our jobs~," answered Dead, summoning her three pronged sword in a burst of green light. "White Heart is waiting…"

"Wha—" that was all Ram could say before the scenery began to change. The walls cracked as the floor began to lose its colour, slowly transforming into dark blue green. "What's happening?!"

"Welcome, Ram and Rom, to your sister's Illusionary World," greeted Dead with a cryptic tone.

"Ah, right…" said Ron as he slapped his tail on his head.

"W-What do you mean by that?!" asked Rom as she clutched on Rock's side.

"I don't know, but souls that usually have strong ties with one another are either placed within one Illusion or their Illusions are right next to each other, in this case…" Ron transformed into a black sword which was caught by Rock, "Your sister was right next door all this time, and you didn't even notice it… Man, this is getting ridiculous by the second. What now, another boss battle?"

"Heh, you just to say something, snake," chuckled Dead as the landscape completed its transformation. Stone crystals grew out of nowhere with the speed of a fast forwarded film, glowing with ominous green light. Large stalactites hung from the cavern roof while stalagmites burst through the floor. There was no exit, behind the group was a solid wall shaped into a curve while before them was a large chasm similar to an abominations gaping maw.

At the edge though stood a person clothed in white.

"Blanc!" echoed Ram's call throughout the cavern. Rock had to grab the girl's collar to prevent her from charging into the newcomer. So this was Blanc, a girl clothed in a snow coloured dress with brown and black design. The Goddess regarded the group with bored eyes and a dull expression; she didn't seemed to be surprised at her sisters' appearance.

"Blanc, it's us! Rom and Ram!" yelled the pink haired girl yet the CPU gave her no response. "Why…?"

"Well, she's been like this ever since Skull-chan witnessed her corruption complete," said Dead while putting her arms at the back of her head, "I wonder if we'll have to poke her. See if anything happens— Huh?"

A blue blur ran past the horned girl and sprinted with all its might towards the Goddess. It wrapped its arms around Blanc in a tight embrace. Rom sobbed uncontrollably as she hit her elder sister's shoulders, "Y-You… You were here all this time…. Why? Why did you have to hide?! You were our sister! You shouldn't have left us behind. We… We were so scared!"

"Girl, get away from the soul, right now!" yelled Ron.

"She's not a soul she's my sister!" screamed Rom as angry tears fell from her cheeks.

At that, Blanc placed a hand on the girl's head as if to pat her. That was what Rom expected, a horrible mistake on her part. Blanc grabbed a fist full of her hair and yanked her upwards. The little girl's vision was world of pain and agony; she didn't know why would Blanc do something like this. Her mind was mush, she couldn't even hear Ram's screams until she suddenly flying through the air. She landed into someone's arms whom she identified as Rock, her twin sister beside the Shooter.

The twins and the two Shooters watched as Blanc spread her arms on either side of her body as a blinding white light engulfed her being.

"Oh my, this looks fun," mused Dead as she held her sword with her right hand.

Rock blinked twice to get rid of the dark spots dancing at the edge of her vision. She was then greeted with the colossal body of a metal warrior. The torso of a huge suit of armor rose up the chasm, its silver body gleaming under the blue green light. Its body was large enough to reach the very roof of the cave. On its arms were two clawed hands, their blades shining with wicked light, ready to cut through anything that got in their way. On its chest was the distinct form of the corrupted Goddess; White Heart with her eyes closed as if within a peaceful slumber.

The colossus roared with its metal mouth as it loomed over the girls.

"Now that I think of it, this reminds me of that manga I read once," commented the horned girl as she stared unimpressed at her adversary, "Magic something?"

"Is this really the time?" snarled Ron in his sword form as Rock got into a stance.

"Oh maybe not," she then glanced behind her to where the twins were watching in horror as their elder sibling transformed into a monster, "You two be good girls and stay there."

"Alright then! Let's go, Rock!" yelled the sword as Rock's left eye blazed with blue flames

"Understood," she replied in monotone.

"Dinner's served~!" sang Dead as her right eye burst into green fire.

And so they charged the enemy.

* * *

The colossus drew its arms backwards and slammed them together, forcing Rock to transform her sword into a cannon use the recoil from a charge shot to retreat. Dead was more content avoid the attack by jumping upwards. The blue eyed girl aimed high and unleashed a concentrated fire at her enemy's face. Because of that, it provided enough distraction for Dead to come close and slash at the thing's face, delivering a kick on its visor to push herself back.

"Go Skull-chan!" she ordered as her twin bonehead sentinels flew towards the suit of armor and crashed into its face. The colossus had a dazed look as Dead landed back on the floor, she prompted Rock to take a shot at it while it was confused. That is until the thing's hand shot out of nowhere and grabbed a flying skull.

"Spread," snapped Rock as she went to the right while Dead dived to the left, a giant skull tossed into their direction.

She fired off one charge shot at a time, dealing little damage to the colossus yet effectively keeping its attention on her while her horned colleague got close enough to strike at the thing's arms. This went on for a while until Dead was caught by a sweep of the colossus' metal arm, knocking her into a wall. The giant then drew its right arm back and sent a fist towards Rock. She managed to roll out of the way and aim a charge shot at the imbedded hand.

The explosion that took place blew her off her feet, causing her to hit back first into the floor. Her cannon transforming into a sword, she got up and sidestepped another crushing fist, using the opportunity to hack and slice at the damaged hand. A whistling behind her indicated that an attack was coming so her sword turned into a cannon once more and was fired at the floor, launching her into the air as the colossus' other arm travelled below. Rock landed upon the thrashing arm, grabbing hold of the metal edge and firing one blue bullet after the other at the armor's face.

Realizing that she was about to get crushed into a wall, she jumped off and landed in a roll, firing off a couple of shots before performing a somersault to avoid the thing's sweeping arm. She then aimed her cannon at the colossus' face and fire a devastating charge shot. It head was knocked back at the ringing force, causing a few stalactites to collapse upon it.

"Ahh!"

At Rom's cry, the Black Star whirled around and aimed her cannon. She shot three stalactites that were about impale the twins; however because of this she didn't have enough time to dodge the armor's incoming hand. The expected impact never came for a three pronged sword impaled the palm into the ground, a very pissed off Dead driving it deeper. The left hand that was about to crush them both was halted by a skull sentinel push it back, followed by another skull head butting the armor's helmet.

"Get him," snarled Dead as she held her position, ordering Rock to take the opportunity. The blue eyed girl was more than willing; she transformed her cannon into a sword and sprinted up the colossus' stuck arm. She jumped off as she was about to reach the helmet and delivered a vicious slash to the face. She landed just beneath the armor's free arm as it clutched at the new cut on its metallic face. Not allowing it to recover too much, she focused her cannon's fire towards the thing's shoulder, the joints were her target.

It finally managed to release its hand from Dead's sword, launching her into the air. The horned girl was caught by one of her own skulls, using it as a platform; she kicked off and swung her sword in a wide arc. Successfully scarring the helmet's face, she landed directly in front of its torso before dashing away. Dodging a couple of fists, Dead managed return to Ram and Rom's side. Wiping her brow of sweat, she collapsed on her rear and sighed. She glanced at her side and gave the twins a wave.

"Hi there~," she greeted the twins, ignoring the fact that Rock was literally fighting for her life. "Quite the show, huh? I'm surprised you haven't taken out the popcorns."

"S-Shouldn't you be helping her?" Ram asked timidly as Rock hacked and slashed at the colossus' hands, "If you don't help her, she might die!"

"Ah, but she can take care of herself. Besides I need a break, it's not cool being tossed around like ragdoll," Dead raised her voice a bit over the sound of Rock's cannon fires.

A body slid past her and landed with a dull thud. She glanced behind her to see the blue eyed girl standing up while dusting her clothes. Rock glared at the horned girl before running towards the suit of armor once more. This only caused Dead to sigh in annoyance, "Well I guess break time's over…"

Ram and Rom watched as the green eyed girl stand up while picking up her sword. Dead stretched her arms and yawned, walking past a panting Rock after pushing her aside. The armor slammed its hand on top of her, only for it to connect with her sword. Unlike earlier, she easily deflected the colossus' fist to her left. She then dashed forward sword first with the intent of impaling the slumbering Blanc on the armor's chest.

"Don't hurt her!" yelled Rom from behind, forcing the horned girl to twist her feet and deflect the armor's left hand instead.

Rock took the opportunity to step on the hand Dead deflected and jump upwards to the colossus' face. With one powerful thrust she jammed her black blade between the armor's eyes, quickly transforming it into her rock cannon for a follow up shot. She was too busy firing her bullets that she didn't see the colossus' gigantic fist flying towards her, sending her flying backwards.

"Ugh, I don't think we're cut out for this anymore…" grumbled Ron as he turned into a sword, "You okay?"

"I'm fine," replied Rock as she beat away gravel from her shoulders.

Dead swung her sword back and forth, twisting around to deflect a right hand before stabbing backwards to impale a left hand. She ordered her skulls to bombard the thing's head as she waited for Rock to recover. A charge shot rang through the cavern, followed by an explosion at the colossus' ravaged face. With a smirk, the horned girl ordered her skull familiars to circle her before urging them to attack the armor's arms. Another boom and explosion roared, the armor's movements were becoming slow and sluggish, this could be their chance.

The two skull sentinels opened their jaws to their limit and chomped on the colossus' shoulders, tearing away iron and steel with great ferocity. The horned Black Star dismissed her familiars with a flourish of her hand, giving the blue eyed Black Star the opening. Rock charged her cannon.

_**BOOM**_

_**BOOM**_

The armor's metal hands fell lifeless on the ground. With no more weapons at its disposal, the colossus could only roar at its opponents. Dead leapt towards its face, slashing three times to silence it. It slumped backwards with its head hanging limply. It was over.

Rock lowered her cannon and sighed in relief. She glanced towards the twins and gave them a nod, a signal to which Ram and Rom approached her. The horned girl was at the colossus' torso, inspecting the still sleeping Blanc stuck on it. She noticed Rock come close with the twins and smirked.

"Well, I guess we beat her," she stated obviously, "Problem now is how do we get her out?"

The twins immediately ran towards their elder sister, calling out her named and tugging at her dress. The light which the colossus used to power itself started to fade and be absorbed by the slumbering Goddess, ever so slowly, cracks formed upon her bonds until they broke. Ram and Rom caught her and set her down. They continued to shake her yet it was no use, it seemed like Blanc was out cold.

"What are you thinking, Rock?" asked Ron as he turned back to his usual form of a snake.

"It must be fun…" she replied, "To have a sibling…"

Ron merely shook his head while Dead smiled to herself. That was when the horned girl noticed something odd. Her eyes met with Rock for a millisecond before they both grabbed Ram and Rom respectively and tossed them backwards. The twins didn't time to voice their protests for everything happened too fast, and Dead and Rock were already trapped within two severed arms. Ram and Rom watched in shock as the metal hands gained a life of their own, threatening to crush the Black Stars within their fingers.

Yet what shocked them most was the sight of their sister rising up to her feet, a smirk on her lips. A bright light shined for a moment before fading into nothingness, revealing the Goddess White Heart in all her glory with battle axe in hand. She raised her right hand in greeting, "Hey there, you two sure picked up a couple of interesting friends."

"Sis, why are you doing this?!" yelled Ram in confusion, her tears much more pronounced, "Please let them go; we're only trying to help you!"

"Yes, I know. Thanks for that," replied White Heart as she waved her hand dismissively, "Now I'm going to help _you_."

"Wh-What?"

"I've been watching you all this time," explained Blanc, ignoring the fact that there was couple of floating metal arms above her, "It was after you left the Basilicom, chased by this bitch." She gestured towards the struggling dead, "I watched how you two run and attempt to fight, watched how you met up with this girl and her snake," she gestured again to the panting Rock and the squirming Ron, "Heard what happened to Neptune, get an update and all that crap. And finally, see how you two travelled your way here…"

"I-I-I don't get it," sniffled Rom, "Why do you have to do this?"

"To see if you haven't lost your touch," the Goddess simply stated, "Since from the beginning, what have you two done? Tell me, Ram, Rom…"

A couple of heart beats passed by and it was Ram who answered, "We… Ran… We didn't even put up a fight…"

"Yes, you did just that," confirmed Blanc with a nod of her head, "Now tell me, during the fight with me, did it ever occur to you that you can help these two? Instead of sitting there, fearing for their lives, why didn't you take the initiative to talking some sense into me? Didn't you think that this might have been solved faster that way?"

The twins didn't respond and lowered their heads.

The Goddess ran her fingers across her face, "Man, you two are hopeless…"

"We're sorry…"

"Hm?" Blanc turned her attention at Rom who began to cry.

"We're sorry if we were bad sisters, we're sorry if we made you angry all the time, we're sorry if we didn't behave and doodled all over your works," sobbed the blue haired twin, "We- *hic*- We just wanted your attention. We didn't mean it, honest. We… We just wanted you to *hic* to be happy. We *hic* We're really sorry Blanc!"

Rom then wept on her twin's shoulder as they both cried. The Goddess released an irritated sigh, "Geez, alright listen up!"

This silenced the twins' sobbing into sniffles.

"If you can beat me in one hit then I'll let these two go," yelled Blanc while pointing at Rock and Dead, Ron had long passed out judging from the foam coming out of his mouth. "You only have one chance so make it last! Give me everything you've got! Show me your true power and I might forgive you!"

The twins stood up and wiped their tears before nodding, "Okay…"

They tapped into their powers and were surprised when they received a response. Their staffs materialized out of thin air, ready to be held by them once more. Ram and Rom grabbed their weapons and began gathering their power, passing energy between them to maximize the effect of this single attack. Blanc remained unfazed by this and simply watched, her arms crossed under her chest.

"Here," yelled Ram as she raised her staff above her head.

"We," echoed Rom as she too did the same.

Blanc closed her eyes with a smile, _Go…_

* * *

Rock opened her eyes to the sky. How long had she slept? Her last mission really did a number on her, not mention the souvenir she got in the form of her aching back. Despite not wanting to get up from her comfortable position, she knew she had to so she did. Looking around she found herself within the barren wasteland of the Threshold.

"Oi, you awake yet?" called her partner's voice.

The girl looked towards her right and found Ron coiled around a metal pole. She watched him hover above ground as he stretched his body. He then glided towards her side, examining her ever neutral expression.

"Well… What did you think of that conclusion?" he asked.

"Surreal," replied Rock as she rubbed her arms, gazing at the checkered floor with solemn eyes, "Yet not unwanted."

"Hmm, it's just like that time, huh? Now that I think of it, I think that mission didn't exactly look good in context. Bah, it's probably just me. Weird things happen all the time yet I'm still not used to it."

He then began to fly away, causing his partner to stand up and follow suit. The two walked in silence, watching the various scrap, junk, and discarded items of the surface world surround them.

"What happened to Dead?" asked Rock, curious to know what happened to the strange horned girl.

"She brought you out here after you were knocked unconscious," replied Ron, "good thing she didn't do anything weird to you. Anyhow, mission accomplished."

"Have they ascended yet?"

"Yep, they were thankful. Goddesses are weird, you know? I'm surprised Dead really helped us without asking for anything. Don't you think that's a bit out of character for her?"

"Don't care…" muttered the Black Star as she walked ahead, _I'm jealous… I wish I had a sister too… Hmph, must be fun._

* * *

_Nicolas Notes: Yeah, I lied. This is an ongoing now, probably not lasting a third chapter. Damn I got too many side fics at it is, well played Compile Heart, well played. My changing of factions aside, did this chapter even make sense? I fee like there was a lot of OOC. Dead and Rom, yeah those two... I feel like they're massive OOC. Remember, I still. don't. . know. what. I'm. DOING!_

_Think of this as an experimental fic where I'll be able to grasp more on the characters... The woes of not owning Mk2... This chapter would've gone longer but I think it's gone long enough. Too many detours and plot holes. (Please don't hurt me)_

_Um yeah, I'll be working on this fic as a side project. I dunno when the net one will be since I'll be focusing my time on each of my stories._

_The Armored Blanc Soul was inspired by RWBY's newest trailer, except with a larger knight. Ahem, Blanc's my favorite character in the Neptunia fandom, though this may change. I think I may have tarnished her personality and reputation by not giving her enough screen time..._

_Again, sorry for the inconsistencies. See you next time!_

_Yahoo~_


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: No, I don't anyone here but only the story. If I did own Neptunia then it would be ten times worse. If owned BRS:IS and screwed it up, feel free to shoot me. Just kidding XD.**

* * *

_**CLANG**_

_**CLANG**_

_**CLANG**_

At the top most level of the stone tower, blades clashed while blood was spilt. The green sky oversaw the intense showdown between two combatants, a girl clad in blue against a girl with acid green eyes. The former struck hard with great intensity, gritting her teeth as the latter merely toyed with her. With unearthly reflexes, she somersaulted over her opponent thrusting out with her metal blades. Her foe smirked and twirled her three pronged sword in a wide arc, forcing the girl in blue to retreat.

The green eyed girl gripped her sword, dashing forward with glee etched upon her face. The girl in blue parried her strike, spinning around while following with a quick thrust and slash. Blocking her opponent's attacks, the green eyed girl swung her sword once before slamming it down. Her foe saw her sword get stuck and immediately reacted by jumping high for the kill. This only caused the first girl to smirk as a jet black skull collided with blue girl.

"Weak," muttered Dead as she patted her skull familiar, "well done Skull-chan~"

A blur of blue and brown crossed the edge of her vision. The next moment she casually blocked a sneak attack with a bored expression. Her opponent continued by twisting her body in the air, sending out a couple of kicks to the flat of the green eyed girl's blade before landing on the floor, dashing fast for a quick stab. Her advance however was quickly shot down as a skull sentinel crashed in front of her. She looked up to see Dead front flipping with her sword in hand. The blue girl whirled around and crossed blades with her once more.

"Boring," commented the green eyed girl, lashing out with a kick. The girl in blue doubled over from the hit, yet Dead followed with vicious strike to her left, forcing her to block while still injured.

The entire world seemed to go slower; her movements are becoming more sluggish and clumsy. She couldn't lose; she couldn't lose to this woman. Not yet, not until she completed her mission. The girl uttered a desperate shout as she increased the speed of her attacks. She struck high yet Dead parried, she swept her feet across the ground yet Dead was out of range. Why? Why couldn't she beat her? The girl closed their distance and slashed following up with a thrust.

However, her attacks were all but futile as the Black Shooter tilted her head to the right as the metal Qatar flew past her ear. She then gripped her sword and swung it upwards in an elegant flourish.

A deep gash appeared from the girl's stomach up to her shoulder. At that moment all light disappeared from her eyes as she dropped her blades. Her green ribbons were torn by Dead's sword, causing her lush brown hair to be undone. She fell limply on the ground, bleeding as her life slowly drained away.

"I'm sorry, Compa, Lyrica…"

The girl then burst into white light, leaving a small blue sphere in flames. Dead casually walked towards the sphere and picked it up, munching down on it until nothing was left. She licked her lips once to savor the flavor before rubbing her belly in delight, opening her right as it burst into a brilliant green flame.

"Ah…" she sighed as she caught a brief flash of the soul's memories. It seemed like the soul made a lot of friends in her past life, strange ones at that. Dead sifted through the soul's memories and found that despite the constant annoyance and irritation she experienced, she never left them. _Ah, to be young,_ thought the Black Star.

She then turned towards the edge of the tower and jumped. Landing gracefully at the foot of the structure, a smirk was visible on her lips, "It's not like it matters anyway…"

* * *

The lone Black Star stretched her arms above her as she walked across the metal platform. Her skull sentinels were lazily floating around her as she cracked her neck before releasing a satisfied sigh. That is until she began to cough violently while batting the air in front of her. Looking irritated, she glared at the city to her left.

"What's the problem with this place? Don't they know the concept of environment friendly factories?" she whined while childishly stomping her foot on the ground.

One of her skull sentinels looked at her weird.

"Oi, don't give me that look," she snapped, pointing a hand towards the skull which promptly turned away, "You're lucky since you're flying bone head; you don't even need to breathe!"

The skull on her right mumbled something yet the sound that came out was akin to a large gate opening.

"I know I should just get to work, but you're being ridiculous," her eyes then widened, "'I'm the one being ridiculous'? Hey! Just who the heck do you think you are?!"

Dead was about to smack her flying skull when she suddenly lost motivation to do it. Her shoulders slumping forward, she said in a defeated tone, "We're getting nowhere at this rate… Maybe we should find that soul…"

Her skull sentinel commented something, only to receive a powerful kick, sending it flying away. Its twin could only watch as it disappeared of into the distance.

"Don't agree with me so casually!" screeched Dead before rubbing her fingers on her forehead. "The amount of stress I'm getting from you two… Sheesh…"

Walking down a staircase, she then found herself beneath large concrete skyway where several brown buildings could be found. The place seemed deserted since there were no signs of people whatsoever, it kind of reminded of her previous mission with another Black Star. Waving the new area's appearance away, she began to walk around to see if she can get any information regarding the soul.

On a spot where she could see the sky, she spotted small patches of blue while the entirety of the heavens was covered with dull gray clouds. Concluding that it was probably due to the pollution, she then resumed her search. Twice she passed by a sewer hole which seemed to have eerie black smoke rising out of it while her shoes spattered stagnant water. The city kind of reminded her of that steam punk based manga she read about once upon a time.

The tight buildings and the long skyways gave off that kind of vibe. Her walk led her on top of one of the skyways in question; there she managed to get a full view of her surroundings. Metal buildings with glass windows towered high above the clouds while other buildings cluttered beside them. The streets were unnaturally empty, the cars that could be seen empty and devoid of any human activity. From afar, Dead could spot a large satellite like dish before a rectangle shaped factory. Surprisingly enough, that seemed to be the only place with plants unlike the landmarks around it.

The Black Star huffed once and continued walking down the empty road. She passed by numerous unlit street lights as her feet seemed to have taken a mind of its own and was moving her somewhere else. In truth, she let her mind wander; it was times like this where she could think clearly to herself. It was the only time where she wasn't happily fighting a battle or being an intellectual individual. Right now, she was herself, not Dead the Black Star, not Dead the battle freak. She was just a normal girl with horns, taking a light stroll in a seemingly abandoned city.

Ten uneventful minutes passed by where she eventually reached a slope leading back to the main street. That's when she heard the crowd.

It seemed faint at first yet it caught her attention and curiosity. A smirk appearing upon her lips, she immediately started off into the direction of the source. Her leisurely pace slowly turned into a power walk, which eventually changed into a run where she immediately broke into a sprint. With her otherworldly speed she disregarded sweet shops flying by or the scattered posters upon the wet street. Dead's stomach was aching for lunch, and that soul was just somewhere this illusion.

After taking a sharp turn and jumping over a six foot iron fence with ease, the Black Star then found herself at the very edge of…. A crowd of black mass? She blinked twice to verify what she was seeing and found out that the 'people' (if one could call them that) were indeed nothing more than semitransparent Silhouettes in the form of humanoids. Much to her discomfort, a wave of them passed her, forcing her to be caught in the crowd.

"Hey! Watch it, oof! You two! Help me!" screamed Dead as black bodies pressed against hers. Her skull familiar having regained its twin was now watching her navigate through the mass with bright interest. Instead of fighting the Silhouettes, Dead settled for investigating the reason they have gathered.

Sure enough at the opposite end of her position, there was a stage, a huge one at that. Gray curtains with large jet black heart designs were place on either side of the stage, elegant stereos unleashed music like no tomorrow combined with the crowds roars. It was… a concert?

No, it wasn't. Dead noted the lack of instruments as she stood on her toes. Apparently some Silhouettes were taller than her. A few minutes of music and the crowd roaring montage passed by before the lights finally glared. Looking up, the clouds bank of clouds seemed to part, giving way to the clear, blue, unpolluted sky. The Black Star looked around her in confusion as the crowd suddenly grew ecstatic and began to chant a weird title.

"BLACK HEART! BLACK HEART! BLACK HEART!"

She then turned her attention back at the sky, that's when she saw her. A young woman dressed in a simple gray dress and black coat floated down from the heavens. Her hair was white as snow and her face as beautiful as the midday sun. Dead was not impressed.

The young woman took a minute to descend before touching down on the metal stage, grabbing a microphone out of nowhere and shouting, "Hellooooooooo Lastatioooon!"

It was at that moment that the crowd went nuts.

Ignoring the hysterical screaming beside her, the Black Star noted that this girl was different from the rest of the people here. She had an actual face, a dazzling colored hair and a figure to match. Dead couldn't help but feel miffed about the last part. A frown came across her visage as an image flashed through her eyes. This girl with the white hair, she seemed familiar. Odd since she didn't know of the strange girl prior to coming to this strange illusion.

That's when Dead finally pieced it together, "Oh… I see… Looks like that last night's dinner was indeed an interesting one."

Her monologue was interrupted when the stereos boomed with the young woman's voice once more, "I'm very happy to have you all today. Are you all enjoying the show?"

The Silhouettes answered with a rough cheer.

"It's thanks to all of your faith and efforts that Lastation has become the number one Landmass in Gamindustri!" continued the girl while jabbing her index finger into the air, "IT GOES TO SHOW THAT AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, WE FINALLY CAME OUT ON TOP! WILL YOU LOOK AT THAT!"

The crowd roared once again.

_Gamindustri…_ thought Dead, _Coincidence? Heh, I think not. This is going to be good…_

"Rest assured that I'll continue making your lives better so that everyone would be happy!" the girl then approached the edge of her stage, a spotlight following her movements, "Our console just reached the very top in the latest console poll, and the interLandmass Basilicoms just acknowledged Lastation as the most progressive Landmass, topping Planeptune by a wide margin!"

Another cheer, this is getting boring…

"And it's all thanks to your hard efforts!" she declared, pointing her index finger at the crowd, oddly enough directly at the Black Star, "This is your Goddess, Black Heart, signing off. Thank you for coming today! The Land of Black Regality will always welcome everyone with open arms! Thank you everyone and have a good day!"

And then the crowd winked out of existence. It all happened too fast, one moment the Silhouettes were cheering and screaming, the next second they were gone, as if they didn't exist in the first place. All that was left was an empty clearing before a metal stage with only two people present. Still, Dead wasn't impressed.

She watched as the young woman's smile turned into a sad one, with the help of the stereos she could easily hear her say, "Who am I kidding..?"

The girl's hand fell limply to the side as she stared into the dark clouds above her. The Black Star raised an eyebrow before approaching the white haired stranger at a leisurely pace. Walking up the metal stairs and into the stage, the girl didn't acknowledge Dead's presence and allowed her to come close. Crossing her arms under her chest, the horned girl tapped her left foot impatiently as she waited for the person before her to say something.

The longer she stared at this stranger, the more she was reminded of a doll. It was only a few minutes after did the white haired girl turned to look t her, "Well, I'll be lying if I said I wasn't expecting you."

"Is this how you usually greet visitors?" asked the Black Star, "And… Expecting me?"

"Apparently, no," replied the girl, "Pardon my actions, but this place just brings back a lot of memories, Pizza girl."

"P-P-Pizza girl?!," stuttered Dead, earning her a look of confusion from the girl in gray, "Sorry, you must have mistaken me for someone else."

The stranger blinked, "You're… not the cosplaying pizza girl?"

"Ahem," coughed the Black Star, "I think introductions are in order, Miss..?"

"Noire," said the girl with a wan smile, extending her arm in greeting, "CPU of Lastation, though I'm more commonly known as Black Heart, Goddess of the Landmass you're standing on right now. What's your name, strange girl with the horns?"

"Dead," replied the horned girl with a hint of annoyance hidden beneath her voice. She may have gripped the CPU's hand a bit too hard judging from the wince she heard.

"Dead," repeated Noire as she let go, while rubbing her hand, "Well, I'm certainly relieved to see another person like you. The others weren't as polite."

"Really now?" said Dead with an air of curiosity, "There were others? I presume that they're out of commission now, aren't they?"

"They were a rowdy bunch," answered the Goddess, releasing a heavy sigh through her nose, "But in the end they tasted the power of a Goddess. None of them stood a chance."

She then blinked and walked around the Black Star, much to the horned girl's confusion. It seemed to be inspecting the green eyed girl, examining every bit of detail like a supervisor to an employee, Dead had to admit that she felt that it felt a bit uncomfortable. She was about to voice her unease when the Goddess suddenly spoke, "You will do…"

"What?"

"Come, I'll show you something nice."

And with that, the landscape began to change.

* * *

Metal gears rotated while steel clashed against steel. The smell of a burning furnace hung in the air along with a thin veil of smoke. All around, metal arms were working vigorously on the objects presented at the conveyor belt before them. Large dull metal vats contained boiling liquid in which tiny material like cores are being dipped before being pounded relentlessly on another machine. An exhaust tube screeched somewhere and all activities were put to a halt.

Everything was silent save for the tapping of four pairs of feet on the metal catwalk.

"Here you'll be able to see the step by step process on how we develop our console's main core system, capable of holding massive amounts of memory without the lag," echoed the white haired Goddess with a hint of pride as she explained her Landmass' magnum opus, "Though this is just where the materials are being created, the exact manufacturing of the chip would be at the next room. There you'll witness just how powerful our gaming system could be with the material we have at hand."

She turned and looked at her guest, a rather bored girl with horns, breathing and wheezing loudly due to the polluted air. With a look of frustration, Noire rubbed her temples, "Any questions?"

"Does it look like I care?" deadpanned Dead as she struggled to breathe in fresh, clean air, even if there was none.

The Goddess shook her head in disappointment and went ahead, the Black Star following with a slightly drunken pace. They exited the Development Room and entered the Control Room, passing that area by and heading into a blue hallway with red stripes drawn on the wall. It seemed like Noire was a bit annoyed regarding Dead's previous answer.

"I show our magnum opus to you and that's all you have to say?" she huffed over the noise of her footsteps, "Really, I thought you were going to at least appreciate it. Turns out I'm wrong."

"Well pardon me, Lady Black Heart," replied the Black Star while crossing her arms under her chest, "Like my dead colleagues, I could barely understand the concepts of this world, and now you expect me to tell you my opinion on machines that move in such suggestive manners?"

"W-What do you mean suggestive!?" stammered Noire, her white hair flying a she turned around so quickly, "T-T-Tell me h-how they're suggestive! You think I would allow such a thing within my factory! I-how…. You take that back right now!"

The green eyed girl stuck out her tongue, "I don't wanna. Besides, you should really do something about those rings like machines going up and down that pipe—"

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" hissed the Goddess as she held a hand up in surrender while she placed her head on a wall; she was probably going through a bad headache now, "Seriously… Please stop it with the innuendos. My head feels like it's turning to mush."

"Did I overdo it?"

"Yes… Oh Celestia, you almost sound like her," sighed Noire as she regained her composure.

"Excuse me?" questioned Dead with an eyebrow raised, "Like who?"

It took a few seconds for the CPU to answer as she released another heavy sigh, "A…friend… Look it doesn't matter. Though I must ask… out of all of your, 'colleagues' as you call them, you seem to be the most different. I wonder why…"

"I don't know, myself," said the horned girl with a casual shrug before she adopted a smirk on her lips, "Though I'll probably remember if you answer a bit of my questions."

"Like?" asked Noire with a slight tilt of her head.

"What is your desire?" replied Dead, her smile growing wider. Much to her chagrin, her smile was wiped clean of her face as Noire turned towards the other direction and walked away.

"Not telling…"

"Hey wait!"

* * *

"Um… You sure have a strange hobby."

The two were now within a brightly lit room, light entering through the open windows. The two have long since left the factory behind and were now within what looked like a Basilicom. This only confirmed Dead's suspicion, thanks to the memory of the soul she ate; it only goes to say that this Goddess and the Goddesses she and Rock encountered were related. This world too, the world known as Gamndustri. The more she thought about it, the more her interest drew her in.

She had a few question in her mind; Why are these beings here? If they came from another world, then why didn't they arrive in their own Netherworld? Why the Threshold of all places? And let's not forget the twelve billion credit question; What caused these Goddesses to fall exactly into this plane of existence? And why?

Growing tired of being ignored while standing around, she settled sitting comfily on the queen sized four poster bed, not before lying down while stretching her arms. She didn't take it nicely when a shoe hit her on the head, firing up her irritation. "Hey, what was that for?!"

"That's my bed…" deadpanned Noire with an icy glare.

The horned girl stuck out her tongue and rolled all over the mattress, "Don't care, I'm tired…. Besides, this thing smells sooooooo nice. I was half expecting it to be reeking with soothe and ash with the way this country is."

"I-I'm a girl too! I have to take care of my personal hygiene!" stammered the Goddess defensively. An odd reaction. Dead's eyebrows only raised higher as the white haired girl continued, "A-And what do you mean it smells good? Of c-course it smells good! I'm a Goddess for Celestia's sake!"

Not a reaction she was expecting from a Divine Being.

"Geez, no need to be all nutty," replied Dead with a giggle, "I was complimenting you by the way…"

"Just shut up while I'm working," ordered Noire as she went back to digging through her closet. She's been like this for the past fifteen minutes, throwing all sorts of items, clothes, objects, guns, magazines, and other weapons of mass destruction while searching for that 'something'. The Black Star noted how clean and orderly the room was before the CPU's item hunt escapade. Blue curtains hung beside the window while a modest study table supported a lamp at the side of the bed.

At the foot of the four poster was a brown wardrobe with two more closets sitting right next to it. Dead glanced at the painting of a horse galloping through the plains hanging on the wall, she then yawned loudly before slumping back on the mattress. At the back of her mind, she asked herself. What was she waiting for? Why couldn't she just force the answers she wanted out of the Goddess right here and then? It would make her job a whole lot easier. Besides, she didn't sign up for babysitting.

_Shut up, me, _she replied internally, _Might I ask you what good it would do attacking a civilized stagnant soul? It's rude you know… Wait, am I actually talking to myself? Gah, stupid conscience… Anyway, I'm being innovative, I like trying out new ways of getting souls. So don't you dare question me, figment of my imagination!_

"Found it!" announced a voice, wrenching Dead out of her internal monologue.

"Found… what exactly?" she asked curiously as she gazed at the object within Noire's grasp. It was a guitar. "And… What are you planning to do with that? Bludgeon me to death?"

"As much as I want to, I can't," replied the CPU while sitting among the mess she made while adjusting the strings. The Black Star watched her with bright interest as she tuned her instrument. Once she was satisfied, she gave it a light strum, causing a welcoming melody to come out. "Besides, if I beat you to death now, who'll be there to listen to my music? I hope you don't mind. Few people ever know about my hobbies and actually appreciate it.

"Oh… I must be special to hear this," Dead considered it for a moment before nodding, it's been a long time since she heard actual music without the notes killing her, "Sure, why not? Entertain me."

"Alright here it goes," as Noire struck the first note, everything went black. Dead opened her eyes to see the Goddess' face above her, looking down on her with concern. Her mind was still buzzing from that… that god awful noise she just heard. The sheer horrific sound in which that accursed instrument unleashed was beyond words. It was like an amateur wannabe guitarist shredding an acoustic guitar like it was made for rock and roll concerts when it wasn't.

It was so horrible that she black out at the first note. The strumming this heretic to music did was a farce! She must be purged! Yet Dead didn't go that far, instead she settled for shoving the Goddess to the side and grabbing the guitar.

"What… in god's name was that?!" she shrieked while holding the instrument.

The CPU looked bashfully to the right while rubbing the back of her neck, "Maybe I got rusty?"

"Rusty my ass!" she screeched, placing the guitar strap over her shoulder and preparing herself, "This is how you do it!"

"He-Hey what do you think you're doing?!" protested Noire, only to stop short under Dead's icy glare. Few people could do that and live.

With that, Dead began to play. Her left fingers working profusely as she lightly strummed the guitar strings. She let her shoulders relax as the song seemed to take over her; it kind of made her nostalgic for some reason. At that point, it seemed as if her arms were possessed, her hands working on the beautiful crescendo as she broke into the chorus of her song. It was a beautiful, reinvigorating piece; the wonders of a soul's memories could do once ingested.

Maybe that was the reason she felt offended once she heard Noire's 'noise'. A particular memory from a soul she consumed lingered beneath the surface of her mind, causing her to feel the urge of correcting a beginner's mistake. No matter, the CPU was in for a hard lecture after this. She took her eyes away from the strings and glanced at the Goddess' face. Judging by the awed look upon the white haired girl's face meant that she was doing a pretty damn good job on playing. She finally finished with a final strum on her guitar.

With a relieved sigh, she tossed the guitar into Noire while sitting back on the bed, "Well? What do you think?"

"You… can play?" asked the CPU in disbelief, not daring to believe that this total stranger just shoved her talent into her face.

"You never asked, besides I didn't think it was important," replied Dead with a mocking smile, "So, what do you say, newbie? Do you want to learn the basics or not?"

This time, the Goddess finally caught on what the Black Star was saying. Her face turning into a scowl she hotly replied, "What? You think I'll ask help from someone like you just because you're good? Ha, as if. I'll do just fine on my own."

"And wait for your next audience to drop on the floor while suffering seizures? I'm not giving you much of a choice, _princess,_" the Black Star emphasized the last word in an attempt to mock the CPU. Predictable enough, Noire took the bait.

"I'll show you…"

With that, Dead began to instruct her on the very basics. It was funny how a Black Shooter like her was teaching a stagnant soul how to play a guitar. It just goes to show that she didn't do much in life. Not that it mattered anyway. Teaching this girl though, it was a good way to kill time. Maybe it's not so bad experiencing little things like this once in a while.

"Alright so it's G, E minor C, followed by…" Dead inspected how the girl held her instrument. She noted how awkward looking Noire was when holding a guitar, it didn't look like she was very good player to begin with. Taking a closer look on how she handled her strings and tuning them, the CPU was beneath an amateur. She was complete beginner.

So why did she have guitar in the first place? Dead concluded that it was probably nothing more than a decoration, still the question is why the Goddess brought it out anyway? It just didn't make sense.

The lesson took about half an hour before Noire was ready to play. This time, Dead braced herself as the CPU stood up in her gray dress while holding her instrument, "ONE, TWO, THREE, GO!"

And everything went black.

* * *

"Alright, let's try something else," grumbled Dead as she held an ice pack over her head. Two things were different from the room now, one was that there was a large guitar shaped hole on the window while another hole was visible above. Needless to say, the cause of an entire chunk of the ceiling falling down on her was that accursed instrument. She noted that the CPU didn't need it to hit anyone; just hearing her play it was enough to kill an army.

After much thought, Noire held up a frilly pink dress and a sailor uniform, "Cosplay?"

"…" the Black Star stare at the Goddess for a few seconds before grabbing the sailor uniform and slamming the door leading into the bathroom.

A few seconds later, the horned girl kicked the door open and strutted at the center of the room, striking a pose along with a cute wink. Faster than the eye can see, she turned into a blur and took off into the bathroom once more. Noire could only sit on her bed and wait as her guest walked into view wearing a French maid outfit complete with broom and feather duster. Going as far as making herself appear like a klutz, Dead placed a finger on her lips as she stared at an imaginary audience.

"W-What are your orders, master?" she asked timidly, though it was obvious this was only an act. This gathered a reaction from Noire whom clapped her hands.

She then turned into another blur before the sound of the bathroom door echoed once more. This time she modeled as a seemingly young girl wearing a bright long sleeved blue shirt and short canary yellow skirt, a matching yellow hat and red backpack strapped behind her.

"Time to go to school Anee-san!" she giggled, causing the CPU to go wide eye on how good the Black Star's acting seemed to be.

Dead didn't turn into a blur and merely stayed where she was, looking at the disgruntled Goddess with a smirk and mocking eyes, "What's the matter? Don't tell me you don't recognize a challenge when it's being spat on your face, Anee-san~?"

This time, it was Noire's turn to smirk, "I'll show you who you're dealing with, old hag…"

"Bring it on, you pathetic excuse of a cosplayer."

* * *

Noire and Dead collapsed on the bed, looking utterly exhausted. All around them were clothes, litter, guitar strings, CDs and a whole bunch of other stuff. It seemed like the two developed a rivalry of some sort, both striving to show who's better than who. Unfortunately, the two girls came to a tie.

"That was fun…" muttered Noire as she stretched her arms.

"You don't say," added Dead in a more sarcastic tone. She then sat up and released a brief sigh, she would be lying to herself if she said she didn't enjoy the time she spent with this girl. One could almost mistake them for two close friends with all the kinds of antics they've been up to for the past hour. "So… you feel like answering a couple more questions?"

"Heh, well isn't that rude of me," the CPU dusted herself a bit before standing up and giving her body a stretch, "Well, exempting a few things. I'll tell you what you want to know…"

The Black Star smiled and stood up too, tilting her head from left to right with an audible cracking noise, "Finally getting serious, huh? Fine then, tell me everything you know about the world known as Gamindustri."

"Why?" asked the Goddess with genuine confusion. Dead could only sigh in frustration.

"I could write a ten thousand word article as to why I'm asking you this," she said with a scowl, "You are aware on what location you're in now, right? You're within the Crevice of No Return. Hazama. The Threshold, a world where stagnant souls exist due to being weighed down by their regrets…"

"I…" Noire paused for a moment before replying, "I figured out as much…"

"Do you recall anything before you came here?" questioned the Black Star, "Memories before your death or anything?"

"Yes, I recall everything," admitted the white haired girl, rubbing her arm feeling a bit uncomfortable. She gave Dead a hard look as she said, "So why do you want to know about my world?"

"There have been incidents sprouting up recently," Dead walked across the room and leaned with her back against the wall, "And it involves Goddesses like you. With time to kill, I think it would be best to ask you about it. You know what they say, knowledge is power."

"Involves us? So the others are here too…" The CPU entertained the thought for a moment before replying, "This can't be good."

"I've met three, heard of one, and now you," said the horned girl, "The Threshold has never housed the souls of Goddesses until now so we have no idea how this will affect the remaining stagnant souls which are currently residing within this world. One thing's for sure is that if left alone for a long time, the Goddess' desires will begin corrupting them. If the corruption isn't stopped before it spreads completely, then the results would be catastrophic."

"And I'm already showings signs of this corruption, right?" asked Noire, earning her a nod from the Black Star, "I see… I don't have much time then."

She then navigated through the junk around her room and opened the windows, "Tell me. Have you ever heard of a girl named Neptune?"

Dead put her hands on her hips and sighed, "Yes, why? A friend of mine met with her and helped her ascend. Is she someone you know?"

The CPU glanced back at her and smiled, "She's… someone very dear to me. Come, I'll tell you everything starting from the beginning."

Pushing the window panes and allowing a fresh breeze to enter her room, the Goddess leapt into the light. The Black Star raised an eyebrow before smirking to herself, running after her companion and jumping off into the window. Everything was engulfed in white light.

* * *

Dead shielded her face with her arms from the blinding light. She could feel the gentle winds caressing her skin, the scent it left was simply reinvigorating. She felt her feet touch the ground, only then did she realize that she was standing upon a wide plain of green. The sky above was clear blue, almost reminding her of a certain nearly mute girl. The clouds complimented with the heavens as they raced around. What greeted her eyes was a beautiful landscape, clean, reserved and well-tended.

It was as if the world suddenly flipped upside down into the complete opposite of the city she initially entered. Looking around, she spotted Noire standing on top of a hill, staring at what seemed to be the source of a large buzzing noise. She then decided to approach the goddess and look where she was staring at.

It was a town, a humble one at that. Dead could see the tiny figure of villagers going about their business, buying wears or selling them. It seemed like everyone was happy and content, was this how Gamindustri was? It seemed so different.

"We're currently in my memory when I was touring the Landmass of Leanbox," murmured Noire, answering the Black Star's unspoken question, "There's pretty much a lot of things I could tell you about my world, but I guess I can give you a crash course on how it works. You see, Gamindustri is a peaceful world with four Landmasses Planeptune, Lowee, Leanbox, and my home; Lastation. Each has a Goddess protecting it from monsters. This Landmass is protected by the CPU known as Green Heart."

"Yeah, I get the first two parts, but why are we here?" asked Dead, falling on her rear to relax.

"Honestly I'm kind of jealous on how clean her Landmass is compared to mine," replied the CPU, "Looking back to this place gives me a peace of mind even if it isn't my home. It's a nice change of pace from the smoke and metal clanging. This place kind of annoys me too…"

"Is it always this peaceful?"

"No," answered Noire, "Gamindustri has its fair share of problems. Most of them are caused by silly disputes between us Goddesses, but that's just it, a problem between us and solved by us. We never let it seep into the world below. Even then, no matter how hard we tried; a few things still manage to leak down into the Landmasses causing more petty squabbles. Good thing that things like that happen only once a month."

"I see," The Black Star ran a hand through her hair.

"People lived peacefully and happily under our clumsy care," continued the Goddess, "Civilization thrived as the four of us competed with each other, pushing Gamindustri into a brighter future. We made games since our people loved them; we interacted with them as we saw fit, telling them how important they were to us. Which is true since the faith they give us serves as fuel for our Divine powers. We did our best to protect them from monsters; we trusted them as our allies. And in return…. They trusted us. Suffice to say everyone was happy."

"Hm?" Dead turned to look at the CPU's face, she looked a bit sad.

"Let's keep moving, shall we?" she asked while offering Dead a hand. The Black Star took it and stood up, as she did, the landscape changed.

They were now deep within the heart of a bustling silver metropolis. Flying cars hovered about as a comfortable number of foot traffic passed by. More Silhouettes appeared, running on errands or preaching something about a person in the 'ZECA' company. It was sure a pretty futuristic place with all the glass buildings and towers.

Noire sat upon a bench and kept her eyes on the people passing by. The Black Star then noted that none of the people paid them any mind, probably because this was but a memory. She crossed her arms as she surveyed her surroundings, that's when she saw them. A girl with purple hair and white jacket like dress, she seemed to be dragging around another girl with jet black hair and red eyes.

"Come on Noire, we're going to be late for the movie!" chided the purple head, tugging at the black haired girl also named 'Noire'.

"Hey, stop pulling! You don't need to drag me around, sheesh!" protested the other girl as she struggled under her friend's grip. The two disappeared into the other end of the street as they merged with the crowd. Dead gave the white haired Noire beside her a raised eyebrow. The CPU seemed to be lost in thought and didn't realize the Black Star's stare for a few seconds.

A quick sigh left her nose as she began to explain, "That was me of course."

"And the other girl?" quipped Dead in a teasing fashion, though this didn't have the desired effect since Noire merely smiled.

"An idiot named Neptune," she answered in a soft tone, "You said earlier that she already ascended into somewhere. Tell me, was she happy?"

"I don't know," admitted Dead, "The things that I know of her are second hand and I never really met her in person. Though if she was able to let go of her regret and ascend, then I'd say she was very happy."

"Something wrong?" asked the Goddess as she noticed the slight edge in the Black Star's tone.

"It's….nothing," lied the horned girl, Noire decided not to pry any further.

"I see… At least, I've confirmed that she left in peace," she said while lifting her head up to look at the sky, "She was strange one. Queer, eccentric, sometimes overly friendly, it was kind of annoying…"

"'Kind of?'" repeated Dead, "Seems like she interests you."

"W-What's that supposed to mean?" gasped the CPU, getting all flustered and red.

"Oh nothing~" hummed the Black Star to which the other girl could only sigh.

Once the Goddess regained her composure, she continued with her story, "Well, she was the reason we all gathered and combined our strength to fight all those who threatened Gamindustri. Through her, my sister and I made a lot of friends, going as far as being in good terms with the other CPUs. We had a lot of friends, met a lot of amazing people… The heroine girl; Nisa, the travelling alchemist; Gust, an adventurer named Falcom, to name a few."

A flying car almost hit a pedestrian, forcing it to blare its horns in frustration. The two girls ignore this.

"You said you met only three Goddesses and only heard of Neptune," began Noire, "So who were the others?"

"A couple of twins named Rom and Ram, and a corrupted Goddess that we managed to save named Blanc," recalled Dead, "The twins were so cute that I couldn't resist playing with them a bit. Though in the end I decided to help them save their sister."

"Why?"

Dead seemed to be surprised at this and gave the CPU a questioning look.

"You just don't seem to be the kind of person to help another without exchange," explained Noire with her eyes a bit narrowed, "So why?"

"I don't know," sighed the Black Star, "call it a whim or something random. I suppose it's the same feeling I'm experiencing now. Usually, I never bother interacting with a stagnant soul like this. I normally cut them apart without mercy. You know, the usual…"

"And yet you're here…" the CPU looked somewhere to her right and said, "Well, Blanc was never the sweetest person I know, but she's a good one. Caring for her Landmass even if she has a dirty mouth."

"Dirty?" asked the horned girl with a look of confusion, "I've never noticed. She strikes me as the arrogant type like you."

An anger vein appeared upon Noire's brow, she was annoyed, "Well, thank you for that. Anyhow, her looks could be deceiving. I mean, out of the four of us Goddesses, she's the most violent. I mean, really… Who calls a green haired bimbo 't-t-thunder tits'…."

Her train of thought was cut short at the sound of giggling. She found the horned girl struggling to suppress a fit of laughter.

" 'Thunder tits', that's… pffttt!" Dead had to look the other way as her laugh almost broke through, "That's genius."

"W-W-Well now, at least she found some decency to cut it some slack," huffed the white haired CPU. As sigh soon escaped her lips, "It's probably because of the twins. Though even with them, she's as grumpy as ever. This is mostly Green Heart's fault, teasing Blanc around with her… 'package' as she likes to phrase it."

"Well, we're surprisingly getting off topic," pointed out the Black Star as her giggling subsided.

"I think not, my point is that the people of this world…. Are carefree," said the Goddess, "Be it Goddess, human, monster, or magical tomes, everyone here just lived life as it should be. Not once did we have economical break down, sans the Avenir incident, and everything always died back into peace once a problem was resolved. You think people can just forget about a giant monster attack that happened a week ago? If you do, then you're probably from Gamindustri."

"I can conclude that your world is either high or filled with lunatics…" commented Dead, "Compared to the Threshold, your world kind of reminds me of a better one. I've only experienced the sun and blue sky within other Illusions, and only now did I feel the urge to visit this realm of yours. There's still the question though…"

She then walked in front of Noire's view and crossed her arms, "How did you get here? No, forget that, I already what happened, but what event caused your deaths? The Goddesses and such…?"

"So… You already heard from someone else," muttered the CPU, a solemn look written across her face, "Well that saves me time. Come, I'll take you someplace else…"

She then stood up from her seat and took the Black Star by the hand as the world transformed. Looking above, a familiar sight greeted Dead. Snow fell from the icy blue heavens as she and the CPU stood at another hillside. White slush was crushed underneath her feet as she rubbed her arms. She knew this place seeing that she was here not too long ago. Her gaze rested upon a colorful town, now filled to the brim with people in contrast with her last visit.

"Since you're probably acquainted with the CPU of this Landmass, I'm certain that you're familiar with this place," said Noire as she watched the city below.

"Lowee, huh," muttered Dead.

"Yes. The Land of White Paradise, a rather mountainous Landmass lead by the Goddess White Heart," elaborated the white haired CPU while brushing a stray strand from her face, "As white and innocent this landmass seems, it wasn't safe from the dark days that came. Everything has an end, may it be Goddess, human or monsters. The Landmass was no different."

Suddenly, all activities within the city came to a halt as a sharp siren noise pierced through the air. At that moment, the screaming began. People ran for their houses as shops were closed down for the day. At the borders and from the forest burst an army of monsters. They swept through the landscape with the force of a roaring tide. Entering through the city's limits, they laid waste to anything and anyone that dare cross their path.

At the distance, there was a burst of white light and the monsters came to a halt as they were about to take a third of the city for their own. A Goddess has descended in the form of a young girl with clear blue hair. She charged the enemy despite the odds of a thousand to one.

"They're running from the danger, the monsters…. They're afraid," continued Noire as she and the Black Star watched the scene, "They knew what was coming, and we all failed to notice it. We paid no heed to the signs and brushed attacks like these as if they were something minor. A grave mistake on our part."

From their position, White Heart was no more than a shining white speck within the sea of blackness, though it seemed like she was doing quite well using her godly powers to annihilate the monsters she faced. Soon, the invading creatures began to thin and disappear, allowing Dead to see more of the city once more.

"Monsters weren't the only ones who were afraid," Noire willed the landscape to change once more. The two were now standing at the roof of a Basilicom, an angry mob with picket signs shouting loudly below them. Their numbers range from fifty to a hundred people, all appearing to be very angry. Some of them were armed with rifles and swords, probably dangerous people.

The main doors of the Basilicom were kicked open, following the entrance of a brown headed girl in a white dress whom faced the crowd.

"The people were afraid too, and we didn't even bother paying attention to them. When we realized we needed their help, it was already too late," Noire pointed at the crowd whom were being yelled at by Blanc, they were starting to leave and thin, until no one was left behind.

"There was an organization being built behind our backs with the purpose of reviving an evil deity and striking us CPUs down for good," Noire looked up to the darkened skies of Lowee, now tainted with a red shade, "The Arfoire Syndicate of International Crime or better known as the ASIC. The constant monster raids weren't random encounters but organized assaults which they used against us. During the time of confusion and turmoil, they took away the faith of the people and made it their own."

"Then… Your powers slowly grew weaker, right?" guessed Dead with a grim tone.

"Yes," confirmed the CPU with a nod, "We fought against their supposed leader, CFW Magic… And we lost. We CPUs, we were captured because we were too weak. It was because of our stupidity and overconfidence were we all subdued. It was humiliating… They made us suffer for three whole years, no faith to sustain us. During those times, Gamindustri fell into disarray. Old and young alike were led astray, the handful of our supporters slowly being converted into an ASIC thug, leaving nothing but very little people to continue fighting for our sake."

"So… What happened then?" asked the Black Star as she walked behind Noire.

"We were saved by Neptune's sister, Nepgear," answered the Goddess, "If you listened to any other Goddess you met before, then surely you'll know what how that turned out."

"Yes, that's the time where you started killing each other," said Dead, not missing a beat yet it seemed like she was inaccurate about a few things.

"Well not immediately," corrected Noire, "It was after we defeated our captor, CFW Magic. The following days were… So to speak: Hell. With our respective Landmasses at the brink of self-destruction, we had to act fast. We had no time to gather anymore faith; Arfoire was reviving far too quickly. The only choice we had was to place the remaining faith we have into one Goddess and have that person face Arfoire."

"But that would mean killing another Goddess if one were to extract their powers."

"Indeed. Much to my disappointment, it was the Purple Sisters whom acquired the sword," Lastation's CPU gritted her teeth, "I knew what would happen by then. My sister and I had to survive; we knew that the Purple Sisters were incapable of wielding the sword. We both knew that we were better off being the ones to hold it…. Or maybe that was just our minds' way of keeping itself alive. At the bottom of our hearts we didn't wish for everything to end in bloodshed, yet we didn't have any choice. The day came and Neptune and Nepgear arrived in Lastation. We fought, I got stabbed, and they won. At least from then on, the monster attacks would be reduced to zero."

"You think so?" muttered the Black Star.

"One thing I don't get though, is that once our faith was transferred into the sword, our souls should be sucked along with it," Noire turned around and glared at the horned girl, "yet why are we here? Shouldn't we be still trapped within the sword?"

"Now that part, I didn't know…" replied Dead with a frown, "This sword… It acts as a container for the Goddesses' powers as well as their soul; you being here could only mean one thing."

"Are you implying that the cursed sword… Broke?" asked the Goddess with a hint of disbelief.

"It's a guess with no base except for common logic," answered the horned girl, "What would happen if a glass of water suddenly shattered? The water would be released. It's the same concept as with the sword, though the next important question is, how was it broken, or better yet; destroyed?"

The world began to spin; the images of their surroundings were nothing more than a blur now. Once the spinning came to a halt, the familiar smell of smoke and asphalt entered through the Black Star's nose, causing her to gag a bit. Noire however remained unfazed, a look of suspicion etched upon her visage.

"Did someone else destroy it? But who? Uni's not here, yet she was with me when I died. Vert? Not possible since it was two to one with her against Neptune and Nepgear," she began to pace around, her footsteps echoing throughout the area, "Neptune's already dead so it's possible that Nepgear was the last Goddess to stand and face Arfoire, but then… Who destroyed the sword? Did she break it after Arfoire died?"

Dead had to shield her face with her forearm due to the smoky atmosphere Lastation emitted. She was now at the highest point of a jet black building, giving her an amazing view of the industrialized city. The only flaw to this image was the polluted air and smoke filled skies. There was a dull throbbing within her head, causing her to lose focus and struggle to breathe. She glared at Noire whom was still pacing around and felt no surge of energy being released. This sensation she was feeling was not connected to the stagnant soul before her, then… What was it?

And then the images flashed before her eyes. She was standing on a ship, and somewhere at the distance was Planeptune. A wave of shock and sadness washed over her as she watched the silver city crumble as it was engulfed in an ominous light. These feelings, they weren't hers… A memory?

And then her vision turned normal just in time for her to hear the CPU say, "….. don't even want to think that a human is capable enough to wield it… then who?"

"Noire, can I ask a question?" requested the Black Star, causing the Goddess to look at her.

"You already did, what is it?"

"Have you… I don't know… met someone from your world here?" continued Dead with a tired expression, "Someone who shouldn't even be here… A person you least expect to arrive in this place."

The CPU froze, she knew something obviously…

"Yes…"she answered in a stiff tone, it seemed like she wasn't fond of talking about this, "If time was relevant in this realm, then I'd say three weeks ago, I met her. She was a friend of Neptune's… A human one at that."

"Name… Tell me her name."

"Compa. Her name was Compa."

A smirk flashed across Dead's lips as her mind showed her an image of a smiling pink haired girl wearing a sweater while holding a giant syringe. Her comical appearance was outshined by her beautiful smile. This only confirmed one of the Black Star's speculations. Apparently, the previous soul she had just consumed was good friends with this girl judging from its memories. This brought up another question: How and why did she die?

Noire managed to answer this unspoken question just by looking at the horned girl's face, "She walked into my territory shortly after I've dispatched a group of your colleagues. I was confused at first on why she was here of all place, but she didn't answer. Instead, she broke down and succumbed to her regrets."

Her tone began to turn into a bitter one, "I… might not have known the girl as Neptune has, but I could tell she was a good girl. Her being here is just cruel. I tried to talk some sense into her, but she only kept crying and screaming. She wailed about breaking her promise and that she wanted her grandfather. It was a pitiful sight…"

"What did you do then?" asked the Black Star even though she already knew the answer.

"I put her to sleep."

* * *

"_**WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**_

"_Please, stop this, I only want to help! We could work this out, just listen to me!"_

_Noire did what she can to avoid the charging syringes as she did her best to talk some sense into the stagnated nurse. The girl whom used to be known as Compa was now an unstable wreck, her soul has been corrupted for so long that any chances of it being purified was a slim one. Light like tendrils sprouted on her back as she sat in a corner while covering her eyes with her hands. The tendrils' tips were morphed into giant, brightly colored syringes._

_Power roared through the air as Compa continued on wailing. The Goddess raised her sword to parry a syringe, spinning around once and jumping high before slashing at the tendril connecting it to the stagnant soul. She landed on the floor in a roll and pulled out her gun to fire at three incoming syringes. Her weapon barked three times and soon the death weapons were no more._

"_Listen to me! Compa!" yelled the CPU in a frustrated manner. The newly formed syringes swaying at the stagnant nurse's back weren't improving her mood._

"_**N-N-Nep-Nep, Iffy, Ge-ge, w-w-where d-did yo-you all go?"**__ sniffled Compa as she rubbed her eyes, tears falling down her cheeks, __**"H-Help me. Why d-did you a-a-all leave me alone… he-Help me! I-I want my grandpa! Grandpa! Grandpa! Grandpa!"**_

_The syringes stiffed for a moment before charging towards the white haired Goddess. With a curse, Noire rushed in to intercept them. Weaving through the deadly thrusts, she cut through the stems of the syringes, rendering them useless on the ground._

"_**NOOOOOO!HELP ME IFFYYYYY!"**__ wept the nurse as she saw the CPU come close. A dozen more syringes sprung into existence, forcing the Goddess to sigh in order to clear her mind._

_She blocked and parried as the weapons made their traditional stabs, though a couple stayed behind to fire off bullets towards her. Striking left and right, Noire spun around to knock back all ten syringes with her brute strength. She tightened her grip on her sword and dashed forward. The air was filled with the sound of a blade singing._

_Black Heart came to a halt in front of a tear stained Compa who was looking at her with misty eyes. She tightened her jaw and steeled her resolve as she raised her sword above her head, quickly bringing it down in one fluid motion. The nurse fell with her back first against the wall, a peaceful look upon her miserable face as the wound on her stomach began to glow. The glow began to spread until it covered her body, slowly reducing it in size and changing it. The next moment, a blue spherical object burned with azure flames. _

_Noire left it there and walked away, not daring to look back…_

* * *

"I put her out of her misery," continued the Goddess as all fell silent, "I had no choice. None of us did… As long as I exist, I will never forget that horrible act I just did. I hate it so much that I want it bleached from my mind. I… I just don't know what do then…"

"I see," muttered Dead, "there are a number of possibilities we can gather from this. One is that she killed herself and fell here. Though that doesn't seem like an option judging from… what you told me. Two is that she got unlucky and died. Another unlikely option for various reasons… Or three…"

She looked at the CPU with a mocking smile, "Something big just happened shortly after you died."

"What?!" exclaimed Noire, outrage evident on her face, "that… Is not possible! The Last Goddess to wield the accursed sword will be the one to defeat Arfoire! There is no way in Celestia or hell would Gamindustri fall with the true Goddess lurking around! How would that even begin to happen?!"

"It's not possible for this girl, Compa, to be killed by monsters since the remaining Goddess would've made sure to purge them so as to prevent any more deaths caused by those creatures," pointed out the Black Star with the same annoying smile, "If that was what you were thinking. If not, then we'll have to assume the worst."

_This Compa girl is from Gamindustri, and the soul I just consumed was also from Gamindustri. This is too much of a coincidence…_ thought Dead.

"Tch… It's… It's only but one person, I think it's best not to jump to conclusions yet," suggested the CPU as she processed the results of her own imagination. Suffice to say that she was looking at a very bad image,

"Is that what you really want to say, Black Heart?" the horned girl approached the Goddess with the same annoying smile; her green eyes were flashing mischievously, "Come now, speak up. No need to hide anything. Tell me what you think happened to Gamindustri…"

Noire made no response.

With a sigh, Dead decided to play her card, "A few hours before I arrived into this Illusion, I faced off with a girl with the following descriptions: Petite and has a long beautiful brown hair. She had green eyes and wore an oversized blue jacket. The most distinguishable part of her appearance… is that she had a green ribbon tied on her hair."

"That's… The guild member…"whispered the CPU, "But… How?"

"Like I said, I fought her, beat her," Dead leaned in close and whispered the last phrase into Noire's ear, "And ate her soul~"

The Goddess shuddered and suddenly backed away from the Black Star.

"Think about it for a moment, Lady Black Heart," said the horned girl as she raised her arms, "Two humans from the same world, and friends at that. Now isn't that just intriguing? Unless it was a lover's suicide then we'll stop at that, but it wasn't. Something killed them both, two important people that played a part in Gamindustri's history, a part against the plot of this Arfoire's revival. It's too much of a coincidence, don't you think?"

"No… it's impossible…"

"It could only lead to one possible conclusion, Goddess," Dead crossed her arms and finished, "Gamindustri has fallen and the cause of it is still unknown. You sacrificed your life for nothing…"

Silence… Complete utter silence washed overhead. The Black Star allowed the last two sentences sink in.

That's when the CPU did something unexpected… She giggled. The Black Star's smirk was wiped off her face as she watched the Goddess. She was certainly not expecting this reaction, usually when she jabbed absolute truths there was usually cries of frustration and gritting of teeth. A broken soul is easier to fight than a composed one, but then again, Noire was not a normal soul to begin with.

Finally, Lastation's CPU ceased her laughter and wiped a tear of her eyes, "Ah… right, how silly of me. As if I didn't know the latter part already."

"Are you… an idiot?" asked Dead in a genuinely confused tone.

"Nope, but really now," Noire's giggling was reduced to a sad smile, "My home's gone now… Huh? And I just wasted my life to avoid seeing its end… Ahh, just what was I fighting for…?"

"Okay, now will you please explain to me why you're not wallowing yourself in despair?"

"It's because," Noire gazed deep into Dead's eyes, "We were doomed from the start. We were wrong, and because of our silly decisions did our world break down. In the end, it was… All our fault. But you know, Gamindustri could never be destroyed completely. True that something bad may have happened, but I don't think the people there would allow such a thing. There will always someone who's going to rebuild a fallen civilization. I'm… kind of relieved actually…"

"So you're happy that your home was destroyed?" pointed out the Black Star.

"No, actually I'm quite sad," sighed Noire, "I might… look like this but actually I'm tearing apart inside. There's a rollercoaster of feelings happening inside of me. I'm angry at Nepgear for not doing her job properly, I'm mourning for the home I lost, I'm happy because… because…"

The horned girl took a step back and summoned her sword. A crack just appeared upon the Goddess' visage like that of a collapsing wall. Her time was up; the corruption has reached its peak.

"You're happy because you died and didn't' have to suffer anymore," answered Dead while holding up her blade, "You're more content to putting up a strong front and won't acknowledge your mistakes. You're relieved because you don't have any responsibility to a world that's already doomed from the start. Now tell me, little Goddess, is that what you were going to say?"

The CPU only lowered her head, a sad smile on her lips.

"You're selfish," spat the Black Star.

"How could you say that…?" asked Noire, "You don't even know me, much less what I've been through."

"That's what they all say," answered the horned girl, placing her sword over her shoulder, "You did what you can, yet you still put the blame on you and your friends. If you have anyone to blame, blame the bloody universe for all I care! It doesn't change the fact that you're being unreasonable! You rely too much on yourself and your people. You think someone will just rebuild a broken world that easily? Ugh, this is why I loathe Divine Entities; they think they're so high and mighty that everything they do is for the betterment of everyone."

"What are you..?"

"I'm telling you, that it doesn't mean you're of a high status Goddess, doesn't mean that someone will have to clean up after your mess. Tell me, have you considered the people of your Landmass' feelings before you decided things for them? Sure you'll always have the final say, but did you actually care for what they had in mind? They're probably squaring off with the other Landmasses since they're all under one flag now. Surely not all are in good terms with that kind of choice, hm?"

"…" Noire's hands were now trembling as a surge of power erupted around her. Dead remained unfazed and merely stared at the Goddess with a bored expression.

"Yes… You're right," admitted the Goddess with a determined look, "You're absolutely correct, but… I can't break down just yet."

"Oh?" Dead relaxed and allowed herself a smile.

"Enough with your mind games," said Noire, the unstable energy around her slowly dying down into a more controlled flow, "We all knew what would happen if we went with our decisions. And yet we took that choice anyway. We knew the consequences and we took them like real CPUs."

"And yet thousands of lives are either on the brink of death or dead, how do you feel about that?" asked the Black Star, "They didn't even know what was happening to their world and went about their merry lives. Not even knowing that the world was coming to an end. They died clueless."

"They were happy, they had faith, and all for them were with us until the very end," answered the CPU, "That's all that matters."

"My, my… Aren't you glowing with hope? That's cute," said Dead, smiling as the Goddess caught on her act, "Now… What did we learn today?"

"Think first and never let our emotions carry our words," replied Noire, plain and simple.

"Good, good," praised the horned girl, "I was wrong to think that you'll recover fast from the truth, but somehow you managed to endure it. Well done. You see, I wanted to test the limits of the corruption by seeing how many emotional attacks you would suffer while keeping your mind stable. Given your stay here and as well as your little incident with the nurse, the corruption has spread fast and has begun to affect your way of thinking. Causing you to spout nonsense on how everything was all you and your friends' fault."

"It's unbecoming of a Goddess to be defeated in such way," said Lastation's CPU, "But… Why didn't you tell me what you were planning? When did you plan this?"

"That time before I jumped in the window," Dead jammed her sword beside her and crossed her arms, "You admitted how the corruption was already showing symptoms, that was when I decided to inspect just how sever it was. Turns out you're at your limit."

Noire's mouth opened slightly at this, all this time, she was being observed, "I… never knew…"

"I've had enough experience with unstable souls," explained the Black Star, "But the real question now, my dear Goddess… Now that you know what befell two people that were involved with the CPUs and possibly along with them, the fate of your world…. What will you do now?"

That was it. That was the question she has been asking herself ever since the topic about the nurse concluded. She trapped in the spirit world with no way back, her body slowly degrading into a personification of her suppressed feelings, guilt, and regrets. She was losing her powers and was bit by bit, turning into something corrupted. It was a cruel way to end it all…

The Goddess stared into the gray heavens and thought to herself, _What can I do?_

Her gaze eventually fell towards the person before her, this girl with acid green eyes and black horns. Was she a devil dressed as an angel? Or was she… hope?

Gamindustri was slowly falling apart. And she didn't know why. The CPU knew that she didn't have enough time to stick around until she found answers. She wanted to know, so desperately she wanted to know what happened to her home. She needed to know how it all came to an end, yet she didn't know what to do. Truthfully, there was nothing she can do and she knew that.

"Well?" hummed Dead, "Your answer, little Goddess."

Noire closed her eyes, breathing in the familiar scent of smoke and concrete. She opened them and asked, "Can I ask you a favor?"

"Hm? And you actually think I'll help? You sure are bold," the horned girl smiled mischievously.

"No, I'm not asking for help. As if I'd ask you," responded the white haired girl, "You don't seem to be the kind of person to help anyone for anything, even on whim."

"Oh? And how different is this 'favor' from asking help?" asked the Black Star.

"I'm not asking _you_ to help, I'm asking you to find someone who can," replied Noire with a triumphant smile.

"Is that so, little Goddess?"

"Yes, Grim reaper."

Dead's eyes widened at the title yet merely dismissed it. It was kind of catchy, being the Grim Reaper, though she still hated her job. This girl seemed to be the only stagnant soul that has gotten this close to her. Their time together was… entertaining. The Black Star felt like she needed this kind of break once in a while. It was refreshing.

The Goddess' form began to glow brilliant white, slowly but surely engulfing her entire being. This was the ascension process, the time where a Divine Being was slowly being taken into Heaven. The CPU had finally come in terms with her regret and is now preparing herself to depart this world.

"I almost forgot," Noire approached the horned girl with her shining figure, extending an arm and offering a hand to the Black Star, "It was nice meeting you."

Taking the Goddess' hand and shaking it, Dead responded, "I can't say I feel the same. Though you never really answered my question."

"And that was?" asked Noire with a tilt of her head.

"What anchored you into this world? Why ascend now?" the two released each other's hands, the Black Star still had a confused expression on her face.

"I wanted someone to acknowledge me for who I am," replied the white haired girl. She smiled and added, "Few people ever got to know me for real. Neptune was one of them; I guess I was yearning for her presence in the end." She blinked and gazed at the horned girl with a smirk, "Good bye."

With that, she was enveloped in shining white light, slowly dissipating into the gray clouds above.

Dead's eyes never left the heavens for the next two minutes even when the illusion had long since disappeared, "Hmm, am I… going soft?"

A devilish smile appeared upon her lips.

"I'll think about that favor… But don't think that I'll actually do it."

* * *

_Nicolas Notes: *rocks back and forth int the corner*_

_Hello there dear reader, so... Did I finally butcher everyone's character? No? Well I just hope the chapter made sense..._

_*stands up and dusts his jacket*_

_Anyhow, I hope the lack of battle and more focus on the exposition was up to all of your tastes. If not, then I deeply apologize. This chapter was... so to say; Hell. Noire's character was hard to capture and I had to get some outside help (THANK YOU Snapshot2010 FOR ALPHA READING!)._

_One thing worth mentioning is that I think Dead and Noire became friends a bit too fast. I did what i can to change that, honestly i did... *pokes sleeping snake*_

_Another thing is that I feel is that Dead seemed to be a whole lot different here than in the manga. Ah, but what the heck... *throws logic out of the window*_

_Tell me what you think in the reviews! I'm currently watching the BRS anime for the 78th time since September, I need ideas for the fight scenes... I'm surprised is all that no one made a Neptunia X BRS fanfic yet, hence my reason to making this little thing._

_So that's all! Hope you guys will stick around for the third chapter. _

_Rate, Review, and share me your thoughts. I'll be happy to answer any of your questions unless they're completely beyond my level of understanding. I'm still a newbie regarding both fandoms so if there's any inconsistencies, I'm deeply sorry._

_Bye, Yahoo~_


	4. Chapter 4

The sun shone brightly as it oversaw the happenings on the green Earth beneath it. An elegant white city sat in the middle of a grand plain, its people merrily going about their daily lives. Cars drove by the skyways with little traffic while the number of people at the shopping district remained the same as ever. Men and women walked in either groups or alone, wearing clothes with unique designs or walking around in their day wear.

The various owners of food stands were calling out to potential customers as the sweet and delicious scent of their food wafted in the air. At the park children ran along with shining smiles as they played with their games, their parents happily conversing with each other while watching over them. Suffice to say it was just any other day at Leanbox.

However among these everyday citizens of the peaceful Landmass, one in particular stood out.

A young woman, possibly in her early twenties, was enjoying her afternoon stroll as she carried a white paper bag in front of her. Her long green hair swayed behind her as she walked, causing a few heads to be turned to gaze upon this otherworldly beauty. Her light purple eyes gave off an innocent look as well as complimenting with her tree green dress. Her choice of outfit was a simple one though combined with the loose white gloves and sunset colored bow at the top of her skirt created a breath taking picture of what a young woman should be at her prime. Did I mention about her abundant bust?

Crowds parted as she passed by, giving her an enthusiastic greeting which she was more than happy to return in kind. She made her way towards the park in which she decided to rest on a bench. With a radiant smile she looked around at the people going about their day. That's when she felt tug on her right, she immediately turned her attention at a child holding up a crude drawing of a woman with blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

"Green Heart! Green Heart!" cheered the little girl while proudly showing her drawing.

The young woman seemed surprised at first yet slowly smiled and rewarded the child with a pat on the head. Beaming brightly, the little girl ran back to her parents and telling them what happened. She and her parents waved happily at the green haired woman before walking away. Feeling her insides warm up a bit, she released a satisfied sigh before turning her attention to the sky. The sky was clear, the sun was up, and everything seemed perfect. Well of course it was. What did one expect from Leanbox?

Remembering why she went out to buy something in the first place, the young woman turned to the white paper bag at her side and rummaged within. Smiling excitedly to herself she fished out a rectangular plastic case with light green edges, a picture of a brown coated young man with a large hammer made out of pure electricity taking up the space below the logo. The girl seemed pretty happy about her recent purchase; she couldn't wait playing the Lunatic run of her new game.

"Lady Vert!"

Or… maybe she can.

"Ah, Chika, I thought I lost you," she greeted another green haired young woman in black and green themed dress and boots.

The newcomer, Chika, didn't seem appear any younger than the first woman bearing the same hair colour and style, one might easily see them as sisters. Her almond red eyes had a worried look as well as mild annoyance as she pursed her lips, apparently her Goddess could be a handful sometimes. Being an Oracle to a woman who claimed herself to be a Goddess while keeping watch on said woman so that she doesn't overexert herself from playing her RPGs could be quite the experience.

Sadly, that was an understatement.

Vert being Vert, one could say that she _was_ a Goddess both metaphorically and literally. A Goddess on gaming as well as being the Goddess of the Landmass of Leanbox. Still, the Oracle couldn't bring herself to lose against Vert's obsessive behaviour when it came to her games. She simply cared too much for her Goddess to do so. However there are times as stated below that it could be so frustrating.

"Please don't say that so casually," replied Chika as she pinched the bridge of her nose, "And especially not with a smile."

"Oh my, well pardon me then," giggled Vert in an adorable manner, the other green haired girl felt her cheeks grow hot.

"W-Well… Should we get going then? Prolonged exposure to the sun could be bad for your skin you know?" said the Oracle as she placed her hands on her hips, she struggled a bit to regain her composure yet managed to claim it in the end. The Goddess gave her a nod and stood up, taking her paper bag with her. The two departed the park and entered through the shopping district which was bustling with people. Being a Goddess and an Oracle, people gave way for them and greeted them with kind greetings and hellos.

Vert, being the polite young woman she is, returned their greetings with a smile while Chika settled for huffing her nose and keeping her head up high with a smug expression. It didn't seem like she held the people with high regards. They went with that for fifteen minutes before the crowds thinned as they made their way home to the Basilicom. The two were silent as they walked the clean streets of their city, until Chika decided to break the ice.

"Um, Lady Vert?" she asked, giving the Goddess beside her a glance.

"Yes, Chika?" replied the smiling woman.

"Why didn't you leave a message that you were going out?" the Oracle kept the concern out of her tone as well as the slight irritation she felt, keeping her voice calm and casual.

The Goddess however knew her long enough to know what was going on her mind, "Well, you see there was this game I've been waiting for months and I simply couldn't resist paying the shopping district a visit to see if they have a CD in stock. Turns out they were on their last one so I decided to buy it."

"Couldn't you have it delivered at the Basilicom through ? I'm sure it would've been much safer and convenient rather than risk exposing yourself," suggested Chika with a slight frown.

"Quality games are best bought through the store. Besides after the last shipment I ordered with that company, I refuse to receive their services for the next three months after sending me those White Heart dakimuras… Though I admit they were cute, but there was simply too many of them for target practice," explained the Goddess. Both of them came to a halt as the light went green, "One more thing is that it doesn't hurt seeing how my people are doing personally, right? You should put more faith on me, Chika; I can easily fight back anyone who dares threaten my life. No need to worry okay?"

"I see…" sighed Chika with a sombre look, "Just don't forget to tell me next time. I was worried sick, you know?"

The light turned red and the crowd around them too the chance to walk.

"Chika's so cute!" laughed Vert, causing the other girl to look away, "Don't worry, I won't forget. Now, we better hurry or else we'll get run over."

The Oracle beamed and happily followed her Goddess.

* * *

It was already late at night, yet the glow computer light still shined bright. A light tapping could be heard all over the room as well as a faint breathing. Vert rolled on her back and uttered a tired sigh, no matter what she did the constant flame wars erupting between her followers and that of Blanc's would never die out. Sure she disliked the foul mouthed Goddess; however dragging in people like this was beyond unreasonable. Stressed out from the constant page shock site spamming she had been receiving, Vert purged her forum as a mod and reduced all threads into blank slates.

It's been like this since five days ago, the only places where she could connect were the local Leanbox websites located in her Landmass' area. It was strange, yet not uncommon. She just wished Neptune would hurry in whipping the Internep support within Planeptune. Because of these maintenances, Vert wasn't able to come in contact with her raid party for her MMO.

"Boring…" she groaned as she turned her gaze away. The Goddess remained still for five seconds as blindness she was experiencing from the lack of light disappeared. Her head felt like mush, maybe she really needed to sleep. The game she bought earlier today was still left untouched within her bag. It was Chika's fault for forcing her to bake some cake; though she had to admit those cakes were damn delicious.

Her eyes felt heavy and her head felt like it was descending into an incoherent static along with the tired sensation her limbs were experiencing. Maybe a quick nap… was in order…

…..

….

…

_**DING**_

Vert jolted awake. Rubbing her head, she let out a sleepy yawn. Looking around, she searched for the source of the sound that woke her. All she was her empty room and the only sound to be heard was the humming of her laptop. Blinking at her idiocy, the Goddess turned her attention at her computer and switched off screensaver mode.

"Oh, what's this?" she muttered to herself as she clicked on a message, "Hm, an anonymous? Must be spam mail….. Eh? My, my, my… I can't delete it…"

Crossing her arms she began to think. She fell asleep without turning the power off, Chika would be mad since the electric bills would sky rocket again. This was bad, maybe she should call it a night and go to sleep again. The constant ringing of her computer wouldn't help her catch a wink. She was about to shut her computer down when a window popped up all of a sudden. With a frown, her eyes immediately darted to the exit button, only to find it missing. Not only that, it seemed like her cursor refused to move.

Miffed by the sudden turn of events, she reached for the laptop's battery and took it out. Much to her surprise, the machine was still on despite having deprived of its power sources. Perplexed at this, Vert's face formed a frown as she read the message on the pop up, "Important message, please read now? Oh dear, I wonder what it is. I'll need to remind myself later to punish the whelp that hacked my network."

She used her keypads to navigate through the page and select the message box.

_Greetings!_

_I sure hope you're getting this, but a certain someone needs assistance. If you could be a kind Samaritan, please help the person at the abandoned warehouse with anything she would need._

_Thanks a bunch!_

_-Rabbit Head_

"A…guild request?" muttered the Goddess in confusion as she re-read the message five times for good measure, "Abandoned warehouse. Smells like some kind of trap, but who would directly send a request into my computer? And why..?"

Glancing at her clock, she then pursed her lips as she realized how late it was. An hour already past midnight, Chika wouldn't let her hear the end of it if she was caught. Even CPUs had their curfews. However despite that, having her interest prodded all of a sudden by a mysterious message ignited her curiosity into a blazing flame. Surely no harm would be done by simply checking it out, besides as a CPU she was more than capable of protecting herself should this be a trick of some sort.

Vert flinched as her machine suddenly went black, leaving her in the dark. With her mind having a motive, a goal, a purpose, the Goddess quickly jumped off her bed and strode towards her wardrobe, wrenching it open while exposing a number of clothes in the process. A small smile appeared upon her lips as she took a light green cloak from the rack and draped it over herself. This was all she would need seeing as she had her own late night excursions in the past. She thanked all of those stealth based games she had played in the past.

Opening her bedroom window, moonlight entered through it to illuminate her darkened room. In the coming hours, she reminded herself that she wouldn't be escaping her own home like a wanted fugitive. Besides, leaving her home this way was more exciting, albeit Chika would raise hell should she ever find out. The Goddess placed a foot on her windowsill and performed a leap of faith.

Landing on her feet just outside of the Basilicom, she then brushed her shoulders and placed her hands on her hips just before breaking into a run. With one mighty kick on the ground she was in the air, the cool night breeze hitting her face before falling on top of a building. The CPU took one last glance at her home, giving it a brief nod as she leapt across building after building with inhuman speed. The farther she travelled, the more lights were lit.

Even at night, Leanbox was filled with more life than ever. Like the other Landmasses, business went as usual despite the late hour.

She was careful not to allow anyone see her as she traversed above various establishments. Vert had to stop once or twice to avoid being detected by the roving SMD patrols, since Cave was a friend of her Oracle, it sure wouldn't do getting caught. Once the patrols had passed by, she then resumed her journey. She landed on a deserted skyway lit by neon green lights at the side of the road. Not missing a beat, she continued down east to where there were fewer lights lit.

Soon she entered the storage proper of the city, a place where all items, shipping, or deliveries were kept. She leapt off the skyway and landed directly on top of a water tower, straightening herself as she gave the area a quick look. Everything seemed normal; all warehouses were locked tight for the night so that potential thieves would think twice before breaking in. However thinking back to the message it was stated that whoever needed help was inside an abandoned warehouse.

And so here it was, a rundown building with a rusted roof filled with holes along with walls with weathered paint. Having approached it, the Goddess placed a hand on the large rusted doors and pushed them. She had to blink away the dust that flew from the ceiling while allowing her eyes to adapt to the darkness. She then walked to her right and located a switch, pulling it down the moment she found it. There was a series of loud noises echoing from above followed by the activation of the lights, illuminating the abandoned building.

Mountains upon mountains of junk were exposed by the yellow light. The wayward items varied from chairs, cars, broken consoles, beds, and even an old general store. Clicking her tongue, Vert walked through the aisle between the little hills in search for her target "Hello? Anyone here?" she called out, turning her head from left to right, "My name is Vert. Someone told me that a girl's lost here. I'm here to help."

A crashing noise came from her right, causing her to spin around in alarm. She didn't waste any time standing and quickly went to investigate it. Arriving at a wide eyed halt, she immediately came across a lone figure lying among the junk pile, a girl rubbing the back of her head as if waking up from a hard fall.

"Ugh… Déjà vu?" she muttered as she winced from the pain. The girl had bright blue eyes that seemed to be glowing in the dim light, her irregular twin tailed hair swaying as she looked around. Her eyes eventually found the surprised Goddess and tilted her head, giving the green haired woman a questioning look.

Vert seemed to have forgotten what she was here for; she was too busy seizing up the mysterious girl before her with wide eyes. A heartbeat passed by before she took in a deep breath and squealed, "S-S-Sooooo cuuuute~~~~"

* * *

Chika woke up feeling refreshed. A yawn escaped her as she stretched her arms on either side and turned her head to the window. The first rays of morning slipped through her curtains and spilled all over the side of her bed, giving her exposed feet warmth. Another day at Leanbox, so the Oracle quickly got off her bed and walked to the bathroom. After doing a bit of washing, brushing her teeth, combing her hair, and getting dressed, the young woman finally exited her room and entered the hallway.

During these times would she wake Vert up from her slumber. The mere sight of her Goddess sleeping was enough to make her giddy, she then quickened her pace. It was disturbing how she kept repeating Lady green Heart's name over her head in a sing song manner. Oh well, she led her life this way since she settled down at the Basilicom, there was no changing it now. Her footsteps echoed along the vast hallway, her path turning to the right leading to a pair of large wooden doors.

With a bright smile on her face, she knocked three times on the doors before opening them, "Vert, it's morning! Time to wake up~"

Empty. Lady Green Heart's room was empty with no sign of the Goddess in sight. There was, however, the sound of the shower running which could mean that her ladyship was currently using it. Not allowing herself to be surprised by the lack of welcome, the Oracle entered the room and headed towards the bath room. Maybe she could surprise Vert by bursting in all of a sudden, however she decided against the idea since she deemed to too unlady like.

So she opted for staying just outside it, only to realize that the shower had gone quiet. The door was open, and the steam poured out, only to reveal somebody who wasn't her Goddess. It was a girl with long black hair, her petite body wrapped around a pure white towel as her bright blue eyes went wide at the sight of the Oracle. Suffice to say that Chika had the same reaction.

Before she could even stutter a word of shock, Leanbox's CPU chose the perfect timing to appear, carrying what seemed to be freshly laundered clothes.

"Rock-chan, I just washed your clothes~!" said the Goddess in a sing song tone before finally noticing the other green haired woman whom has gone white from surprise, "ah, Chika! Good morning. It seems that you two are finally acquainted."

"V-Vert?" went Chika while raising a finger to point at the girl with an indifferent expression, "W-Who is s-she? Wh-why is she here? And… Why did you let her use your shampoo!? You never let me use your shampoo!"

Giggling at her friend's comical reaction, the CPU replied, "Silly Chika, if you wanted to try it so much you could've asked. Anyhow, this young lady is called Rock. I found her lost in a warehouse last night after a Guild request addressed to me was sent to my computer."

"Guild request?!" repeated the Oracle in disbelief, "You disregarded curfew again, didn't you? Vert, how many times will I tell you that's dangerous!"

"I know, I know," amended the buxom woman while clapping her hands, "But I couldn't just let her freeze there can't I? I mean she'll catch a cold."

"Achoo!"

The two women turned their attention at the towel wrapped girl whom remained quiet throughout their discussion. She merely stared at the clothes Vert brought while sniffing her clogged nose. It was then did the two decide that they'll continue it later so Chika made a hasty retreat from the room while the Goddess tended to the mysterious girl. Once she had gone out of the room, a sigh escaped her as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Sometimes when Vert wasn't so preoccupied by her games, that woman would go do something reckless whenever she had the chance. Never failing to make Chika worry with her antics.

She could pass down the thought of kicking a girl her Goddess brought in, but sometimes she wished that Vert would always tell her what was planned beforehand to prevent minor surprises such as these. If this became a habit, it would've been troublesome.

…..

….

…

Thirty minutes had passed and the Oracle was done making breakfast. Here she thought that she would finally have time to eat with her Goddess all by herself with the servants out yet a third wheel decided to show up out of nowhere. She shook her head and strengthened her resolve. It wouldn't hurt for her to be nice for now. Besides, the sooner they help that girl, the sooner she'll be out of her hair. She still didn't trust that mysterious girl, something about her was strange.

Chika didn't really know how to describe it; it was just that the girl seemed so otherworldly. Like she didn't belong in this plane of existence. Those eyes of hers, it reminded the Oracle of the sky, it was like they were trying to tell her something… What was her name again? Rock? Odd name for a girl, it suited her.

A moment later, the doors opened to Vert and Rock entering the dining room with the former in the middle of saying something while the latter remained silent. The mysterious girl had her hair tied up into two irregular twin tails while having a weird accessory coil wrapped around her right bicep. They then took their seats, the CPU being beside Chika while the guest was seated the opposite of them. The Oracle hoped that the buxom woman beside her didn't give the strange girl trouble.

"Now that we're all here, why don't we start breakfast," she suggested before clapping her hands, "Time to eat!"

"Time to eat!" echoed the Goddess while the blue eyed girl merely mirrored clapping her hands and nodding. At this, Chika wondered if the girl was mute or something. Just as they were about to take their sandwiches, a loud growl sounded around the room.

"Um… Sorry," apologized Rock in an indifferent manner before snatching away a sandwich and wolfing it down.

"Oh my, I just remembered. That girl hasn't eaten for days, no wonder she's hungry," stated Vert with a look of concern.

"Days? Wow, I might be dead if I were her," added Chika in amazement. The way the blue eyed girl munched on her food like a vacuum cleaner reminded the Oracle of the way Planeptune's CPU would devour food. Like a hungry wyvern, the number of sandwiches slowly dwindled down from twelve to three with the girl showing no signs of stopping. Finally within a flash, the platter was now empty.

Blinking twice in surprise, the younger one of the green haired women released a sigh and said, "Wow. Guess I'll make more then…"

Vert settled for eating one of the cupcakes prepared while Rock patiently fixed her eyes at the back of the Oracle's neck. The way the girl gazed sent an uncomfortable shiver down the Oracle's spine, forcing her to hasten her work and go back to the table. Once she had settled down filled with ham and cheese sandwiches, she blinked twice as she watched the blue eyed girl take one after another.

"Ahem, proper table manners please," she chided to which Rock merely stared at her with a tilt of the head. Annoyed, she then explained, "There's no need to devour your food like a hungry savage, you're a lady and you should know proper meal etiquette. Unless… You're foreigner?"

"Now, now Chika, the girl has had a rough time. Please let her be," requested Vert much to her friend's chagrin.

In an attempt to change the subject, the Oracle then asked, "So where did you find her, Lady Green Heart?"

"It was stated in the Guild request that she was trapped in an abandoned warehouse," replied the Goddess while adding a bit of sugar to her tea and stirring it, "During that moment I concluded that she was in sector nine since that was the only warehouse that's abandoned. I'm sure that you remember that incident?"

"Ah… that…"muttered Chika with an uneasy look at Rock. That only makes this girl more suspicious. Just what reason did she have to go there? Was she so poor that she had to sleep in weird places? It seemed to her that it was out of the question since the mysterious girl's skin was flawless while she looked generally well cared for, "Did Miss Rock run away?"

"I'm not quite sure," said the CPU with a concerned look at the blue eyed girl. A frown formed on Chika's face as she saw that, along with a strange tug inside her. Feeling this, she quickly shrugged it off as nothing. She didn't like Vert having that kind of face. A few moments passed by and the CPU spoke once more, "Since she's staying with us for now, why don't we tour her around Leanbox? Maybe she'll find something that will interest her, hm?"

"Huh? But what of your Goddess duties? You can't just leave those hanging," pointed out the younger one of the green haired women.

"I'll just do them later~," replied Vert in a sing song manner, "besides I have my new friend to play with, isn't that right, Rock-chan?"

_Huh?_ Thought the Oracle, _But… I thought you were going to spend the day here… Remember?_

Rock had just finished munching down on her final sandwich as she gave a glance towards Chika, all before turning to the Goddess and giving her a blank stare. Said Divine Being took this as a yes and was positively delighted. That was when the Oracle crossed her arms and rose up her chair while saying, "If that's so, then I'll go too."

"I see then. Well the more the merrier!" chirped the CPU with a bright smile, "Oh, I know of this place where we'll be able to borrow costumes. We can have a group photo shoot while cosplaying! It'll be fun! Oh, Rock-chan, have you tried cosplaying yet?"

"No?" answered Rock while uncomfortably rubbing her right shoulder.

"Then it's your first time!" squealed Vert, "Don't worry I'll be gentle! Chika, the dishes please! We'll be waiting at the lobby after ten minutes!"

With that, the Goddess exited the room, dragging behind her a mysterious girl who didn't seem all too eager at the prospect of cosplaying. The Oracle however was left behind sitting alone in the dining room. She didn't like it, this feeling she was experiencing. She didn't like how her Goddess was suddenly so close to someone she barely knows. It wasn't natural. She felt cold, something within her was cold. Something was definitely wrong about that girl and she was going to find out about it.

* * *

Vert had mentioned cosplay prior to their outing, and cosplay did they do the moment they arrived at the shopping district. Well…. It was mostly Rock forced into cosplaying by the eccentric woman, taking pictures of her like no tomorrow. She had the developed and stuck into a photo album she had bought for fifty credits. The blue eyed girl was left red faced by the end of the session.

"You look so cute!" stated Vert for what seemed to be the sixth time since they left the studio, "I knew you had potential in you! I just knew it! Hmm, maybe lacking little bit in the chest area, but you still passed my expectations! Well done!"

The blue eyed girl avoided eye contact with the more developed woman in her jealousy, "Not…cute…"

"Oh don't say that!" said the CPU with a pout, "I'm not lying you know? Oh well… Hmm, are you… perhaps a foreigner, Rock-chan? Your clothes don't seem to look as if they were made here."

"Yes, I'm a foreigner," confirmed the girl with the same level of indifference. She then turned to Vert and asked, You're… a Goddess?"

"Hm? Of course I am… Wait… are you saying I do not look like it?" questioned the young woman with disbelief.

"No," denied Rock, "You're just like her…"

"Huh?"

"Never mind…"

"Vert! Vert! I brought you ice cream!" called a certain Oracle as she jogged towards the two.

The Goddess in question smiled brightly at her friend's arrival and welcomed her, "Ah, you're back, Chika. Everything went well?"

"Yes. Though the line was packed so I had to wait for a long time. Here's yours," she then gave one of the ice cream she bought to her CPU. To Rock she apologized, "Ah, sorry, Rock. I was the last person in line so I didn't have anything to get you."

Her words however flew over the girl's head as she eyed Chika's ice cream with wide eyes. This caused the almond eyed girl to chuckle nervously as the blue eyed girl came close. Every time she did, the Oracle did her best not to let the other girl come within an inch within her food. Her struggles only stopped when she placed a firm palm on Rock's forehead to keep her at bay.

"H-Hey isn't this a bit too much?" she asked with an uneasy expression, a loud growl could be heard from the mysterious girl's stomach, "V-Vert help me!"

"Oh Rock-chan~" called the CPU, causing the girl in question to tense and look her way, "Here, you can share with mine!"

_WHHHHHAAAATTTT?_ The Oracle internally screamed. Seemed like her plan backfired, _B-But Vert never shared her ice cream with—_

_**MUNCH**_

—_me…_

Something told Chika that this would be a long… long day…

And so the morning went and midday arrived. The green haired Goddess couldn't resist boasting of the advancement of her nation. From the newly established buildings and business establishment to the renovated parks and theme parks for tourist attraction. Calling the current era 'Leanbox's Golden age' wasn't surprising at all to anyone who heard it from Vert. Of course in her defence, this was all the fruits of her labours from all of those years gathering shares and handling paperwork.

It seemed that she was a bit happy that someone was willing to hear her ramblings aside from Chika. The blue eyed girl turned out to be a good listener, though she wasn't much a talker. Despite that, the Goddess enjoyed her company. It was refreshing change.

"We've been heightening our defences throughout the years. Our main task force, the SMD, take charge of Leanbox's safety with its skilled officers. Its thanks to them that Leanbox was kept safe from the monster attack that had happened during my absence," explained the CPU as they passed by the main branch of the SMD, "Though they have a long way to go when it comes from stopping a mass invasion of dogoos."

Rock's eyes blinked as curiosity sparkled within them, "Dogoos?"

"They're pesky little blob critters. Quite the perverts too. It also doesn't help that the majority of the SMD back then were composed of women," said Vert with an amused chuckle, "You may find the other nations just as interesting. New things happen every day so seldom would one get bored. Well, at least that's what a plain civilian would say. I have my on hobbies to keep me preoccupied in my spare time so it's rare even for me to go on long walks such as this."

Which was true. The green haired Goddess would usually shut herself inside her room and play games all week should there be nothing threatening her nation or Gamindustri's safety. It's always been that way, for her to be out and about was indeed an uncommon sight. Excluding those times when she'll be waiting in line for the release of her brand new games.

A white arch came within their vision as they caught sight of the central park just a bit ahead. The season seemed just about right for the flowers to bloom, hence explaining the number of petals flying around. Compared to the ever busy shopping district, the road towards the park seemed a whole lot calmer and more peaceful. A few people wandered about, going about their daily businesses without any sign of any kind of worry.

"Um… Vert?" muttered a small voice behind the two girls in the lead. It seemed like the Goddess was too busy explaining the various sites and establishments in her nation that she forgot her Oracle behind her.

"Oh no, I'm very sorry Chika. I got too carried away explaining," said Vert in apologetic manner, "Is there something wrong?"

Chika seemed startled by her Goddess' tone and quickly waved her arms in an assuring way, "N-N-No it's nothing, really. I just… forgot to do something today! P-Paper work and all that stuff, ehehe. I'm just worried if you two will be okay without me."

Approaching her Oracle, the CPU placed a gentle hand on her the other green haired girl's shoulder and said, "Don't push yourself too much, okay? I know how frail you are…"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," assured Chika with a bright smile. She then waved to the two girls before her before turning around and walking away.

Rock gave her a curious look as she noticed the CPU giggle to herself as if she found something amusing. Vert immediately noticed her look and gave her a smile, "It's… just something I remembered…"

"Something?" repeated the blue eyed girl with a tilt of her head.

"That girl tends to overwork herself for my sake and it sometimes takes its toll on her," said the Goddess with an amused expression, "Honestly, with her body she still manages to surprise me on what she's capable of. Whenever I shut myself in my room, or go on monster hunting, or maybe save the world… That girl has always been there, waiting for me to get home. I like her that way, but if only there was something I could do for her though…"

"You really like her, don't you?" asked Rock with the same indifferent face.

Vert's smile seemed to widen at that, "Very much… Very much… I've watched that girl grow into a splendid young woman. Ever since she was just a little girl, I took care of her, taught her, dressed her, fed her, and pretty much did everything to mould her into the person she is now. For me, no game would overcome the joy I experienced raising her. I love her that much."

"Are you happy? Being a Goddess?" asked Rock as she walked beside the CPU.

Blinking in surprise for a moment, the Goddess' face turned into a smile, "Of course. It's not every day that someone would take part in a real life dungeon crawl and live. Going out of my room, meeting people, making friends… I don't hate it."

"Good," muttered the Black Star, suddenly linking her left arm on Vert's right, "I... don't hate it too…"

"W-What are you doing?" asked Vert in a flustered voice, her face immediately turning red. Her new acquaintance however remained silent while avoiding eye contact. In the end, the green haired woman gulped down her unease and simply played along. Her ears were bright red from embarrassment; she never knew such a quiet girl would be so… bold.

Unbeknownst to her though. The blue eyed girl glanced backwards as a faint green smoke disappeared as a passing vehicle went through it.

* * *

Rock leaned on a metal railing as she gazed at the city before her. Her Goddess companion left a mere five minutes ago to get her something to eat seeing that they had walked most of the morning away and her stomach couldn't agree more. The cool midday breeze passed overhead as she watched the clouds laze about in the heavens. It somehow made her sleepy, she felt like she could relax and doze off with the cool surface of the railing beneath her arms.

Unfortunately for her, it was the perfect time for her partner to reveal himself and laugh at that little stunt she pulled.

"GAHAHAHAHA! To think you'll pull a bold move like that, priceless! Seriously, what the hell was going through your thick skull? AHAHAHA!" guffawed a floating black snake like creature without any eyes. Its flexible obsidian body trembled in suppressed glee as he recalled what just happened earlier, "Ah, youth! Well it's expected of you since you're a girl, falling in love and all that crap, but with another girl? You're a les—"

The Black Star's hand shot out of nowhere and grabbed the snake by his throat, proceeding to slam him repeatedly on the railing like a stuffed animal. Once she had dealt her punishment on her partner, a dreary sigh escaped her lips while returning her gaze at the city before her. It was times like this when she wished for Ron to just shut up. Then again, he was quiet all throughout her interactions with Vert. The little guy sure caught on to things fast if he let her do her thing.

Shakily recovering from his partner's attack, Ron hovered beside her as he vigorously shook himself of his pain, "Guh…. Warn me next time…"

"Your fault," replied Rock without as single hint of remorse.

The snake stretched around for a bit before speaking once more, "So what the hell are you planning? No way would you do something that cheesy. Why haven't you told her that you met the other Goddesses yet? You pretty much hinted it earlier, so what gives?"

"She's unstable. Her soul is," the Black Star moved a bit of her fringe away from her eyes and sighed, "I'm luring it out."

"Through excessive physical contact? That's not like you. Where's the usual hack and slash?" asked the snake while circling the girl.

"I don't know…" muttered the girl.

"You don't know what?" repeated her companion in a less than patient tone.

"I don't know which one of them is the soul," she admitted in a soft tone, "This place is so confusing…"

"Ah, so that's why you had to take drastic measures," Ron nodded his head in understanding while saying, "But still, you're losing your edge Rock. That ain't good, if the superiors found out you'll be terminated. You remember what happened to Acta, right?"

"Yes," the Black Star gazed at the blue heavens above her. She knew at her very core that this was all an illusion born from the stagnant soul's desires, a futile attempt to cling on the reality they were once in. Everything she saw, felt, and heard were all fake. In this world, nothing was real. It was no different from the ones she had encountered in the past.

The Threshold, a world between Heaven and Earth, someplace where souls can neither ascend to heaven nor fall into hell. A sort of prison where they'll be trapped in their delusions of either their greatest desires or worst nightmares. A sick twisted world of paradise and purgatory.

And the ones in charge of capturing and purifying said souls are the Black Stars, a legion of souls which had their egos destroyed to complete those tasks. Rock as merely one of them and the soul she was assigned to hunt was in this city… or maybe she had already met them.

"So what do we do now? That busty Goddess won't be back for a few minutes, might as well plan out the next course of action," said Ron as he continued to slither about in the air, "The faster we do this, the better."

"You're acting different," muttered the girl while placing her head on her arms, "I thought you didn't want to get involve with the Goddesses…"

"Nah, times have changed. 'sides after what Dead told us, we can't afford to let that chick walk around. She doesn't even look like she knows she's dead. If she breaks down and loses her sanity, what do you think would happen? Boom, that's what. There's also that soul hiding in this place so it's pretty much a win-win for us, you know?" replied the snake, gathering no reaction from his companion, "If you wanna take it slow, then be my guest. As long as you make the Goddess realize without compromising the Threshold's existence, then you're good. But first, we need to find that soul."

"I know…" said Rock, "It's all in the plan."

"Oh really? Is luring the soul all the way out here part of it too?" asked her companion in an amused manner.

"Yes," answered the Black Star, pushing herself off the railing as her partner burst into blue flames, slowly transforming himself into a sword. The girl turned around with her blazing left eye lit with blue flames as she spotted a thick curtain of green mist enveloped a wide area of the balcony she was in. It just hung their like a floating wall, unmoving despite the gentle winds passing by.

And then it attacked.

The mist gathered together forming a crudely shaped fist and launched itself forward. The attack missed as the blue eyed girl dove to her side and recovered, leaping into the air with her sword raised. She slashed twice as the incoming fists, successfully advancing toward the thick curtain. Her advance didn't last long since the green cloud was smart enough to grab her ankle, forcing her down. With one fluid strike she freed herself but was too distracted to see another fist flying towards her.

She was then sent flying across the floor, tumbling as she went. Gritting her teeth, she rolled forward to avoid getting crushed but was pushed back once more by a decisive blow on the front. Readjusting her footing, she held her sword in front of her as she analysed her situation. That thing was coming towards her, leaving her very little space to move. With her limited mobility, there were few things she was able to do. She'll have to blast her way through that mist.

"Ron!" she called as her sword shined with bright blue light, transforming into a cannon which began to hum with power. There was a bang and several bullets escaped the weapon, bursting through the green cloud. She fired her shots relentlessly, spreading the mist apart, thinning it so it couldn't reform.

However once again, the green cloud grabbed her by the foot once more and swept the floor with her body. It swung her through the air and slammed her mercilessly on the tiled floor not once but three times. Keeping a straight face throughout the assault, Rock aimed her cannon and shot bullets whenever she could. It didn't take long for the green mist to grow tired and toss her with all its might over the railings and off the building.

Wind roared past her ears as the side of the building she was on raced by. She quickly used the weight of her cannon to twist her body and aim her weapon towards the ground. She unleashed a powerful bullet with enough recoil to slow down her fall; it didn't make it less uncomfortable when she crashed though. Breathing hard, the Black Star ignored the small crater she had created around her and focused her attention at the green mist gathering before her, swirling like a tiny tornado before the form of a person walked right out of it.

A very familiar person.

"Heh, I should've guessed it would be her. Who knew, huh?" muttered Ron as his partner raised his cannon form in a threatening manner.

Chika Hakozaki's fists were trembling in rage as she gritted her teeth. Her furious eyes were fixed on the girl with the cannon as she hissed in a venomous tone, "You… **You bitch… JUST WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING TO DO TO MY VERT?!"**

An explosion of green raw power roared as the Oracle's voice boomed. The Black Star shielded herself with her cannon to keep her eyes on the green haired woman's glowing form. This was the stagnant soul she was looking for. It just had to be this woman.

Looking around, it seemed like the entire illusion was being affected by her opponent's emotions. The sky went from bright blue to acid green, the clouds themselves turned dark as they began to gather in a swirl while every single person around the city seemed to have disappeared, leaving an empty ghost ton behind. If this went on as it is, it could be possible that Chika's soul would be impossible to purify. Whatever regret she may have, it could possibly be too big to handle.

"**I can't take it… I can't take it anymore!" **screeched the Oracle, "**I'm not going to let you have her! I won't let you hurt her! If you want her you'll have to get through me!"**

A large clump of mist began to gather at high speed before flying towards the blue eyed girl whom promptly dodged. She then dashed to the side as another fist like cloud made an attempt to crush her. Aiming her cannon, she fired off a charge shot towards the stagnant soul, only to have it blocked by a thick curtain of mist.

"She's one tough cookie don't you think?" commented Ron as Rock made him fire a couple more bullets, "Guess this is a case of unrequited love, does this remind you of anything?"

"Shut up," snarled the blue eyed girl as she continued with her assault. She dashed left and right to avoid being sliced apart by a tendril form of the green mist, "You're not helping…"

"Am I now?" asked the cannon in an amused tone, to the stagnant soul he said, "You do know that you're dead, right?! So what's the point in all this, huh? Come on, make our jobs easier and let us capture you!"

"Ron!" called the Black Star while gunning down their opponent.

Gritting her teeth, Chika increased her efforts in hitting the other girl, eventually resorting to green air bullets, **"I don't care if I'm dead or not… It's all my fault! If only I didn't let her go! Vert would still be alive! Vert would still be with me! Don't you know how hard it is to wait day after day for her to come back?! DO YOU?! IT WAS MY FAULT! MY FAULT! I SHOULD'N'T HAVE LET HER GO! DAMN IT!"**

Four funnels of green smoke rose up from the curtain behind Chika and raced towards the blue eyed girl. She only managed to shoot down two before the others missed her by a hair's breadth. Recovering from her sudden dive, she locked and aimed at the stagnant soul and unleashed a couple of bullets.

"**The Planeptune Goddesses took her away! They took my Vert away from me and I'm not about let you take her too!" **the Oracle's mist gathered before her once more, shielding her from the explosive force the Black Star's bullets brought with them, **"I saw how you acted with her, clinging on to her arm like that! I know there's something wrong with you, I know you're something else, but it doesn't matter! I won't let you touch her again, you freak!"**

Rock braced herself as she lifted her cannon as a shield moments before a dense clump of green smoke connected with her, pushing her back. Seeing another clump of mist coming to her, she immediately kicked off the ground and resumed her shooting. Using this chance, Chika stretched her arms forward and sent tendrils of green clouds towards the Black Star on every direction. Acting accordingly, the blue eyed girl transformed her cannon into her blade, using the recoil from her last shot to spin around and slice apart the green mists.

Placing her attention before her, she then hacked and slashed at the green smoke bullets launched towards her. Unfortunately, her defence didn't last long since two bullets managed to hit her left leg and head, knocking her down from the air.

"Rock?! Rock, are you okay?" asked Ron while the Oracle began her threatening advance, "Hey, this isn't the time to be sleeping! Get your ass out there and fight!"

"**Good bye, foreigner,"** hissed Chika as she formed a dense clump of green smoke above the fallen Black Star. Just as it was about to crush her though, her bright blue eyes shot open while her left eye was set alight with blue fire. Standing up at the last second, she aimed her newly transformed cannon and fired, moments before a devastating bank of green mist fell on top of her.

Her attack didn't go in vain as the explosive bullet she had launched reached its mark, sending the stagnant soul flying backwards. The thick curtain of green clouds dispersed and a figure rose from within; Rock could barely stand and was using her cannon to support her weight. Her breathing was laboured yet she mostly kept a straight face while gazing at her fallen opponent, she hoped that the shot she just took knocked some sense into her rage filled head.

The Black Star adjusted her footing and prepared for an attack as she noticed Chika rising up, though this time accompanied by strange emerald lights like lanterns swirling around her and sucking in the acid green smoke like a vacuum. When the Oracle had opened her eyes, they were now a deep shade of scarlet while she gritted her teeth furiously. A few moments later, her feet left the ground and began to float.

Her soul was becoming more and more unstable, should this continue then there was no way of talking her out of this one. Should this go on as is then Rock will have no choice but to fight her and capture her soul, but that will compromise her existence and would make the still absent CPU very, very mad. But if she didn't do anything now then it would be the end of her, the second end. If she was killed here then she would become a stagnant soul like Chika…. And Rock had no intention of becoming that.

She had to act and fast.

"What now, kid? You don't have a lot of options," pointed out her partner as the three lantern like balls of light surrounding the Oracle began to join as one, "Better choose one quick or we won't be lucky!"

"Shut up…" grunted the Black Star as she aimed her cannon, "She… Needs to understand…"

"Well I understand that she's a love obsessed axe crazy woman that's out to kill you for that ridiculously stupid stunt! Now go give her some understanding through pure unadultered firepower!" yelled Ron as he began to charge himself up for a big bullet, "HERE SHE COMES!"

"**I can't let you become Vert's happiness!" **hissed the Oracle as she unleashed her power.** "Die already!"**

Rock responded by firing her own shot with a roar of her cannon.

…..

….

…

"Oh my, Chika dear, what are you up to now?" asked a calm voice, piercing through the deafening hum of power.

At that one moment, both combatants forcibly ceased their attack. The Black Star jerking her cannon away from her target while the flying orb of energy which left Chika faded from existence just before hitting the person that was about be sandwiched between the two attacks.

"Really now? I leave you two for five minutes and you turn the whole city into a warzone," said the voice in an amused manner followed by Vert brushing off dust from her dress, her purple eyes still maintaining their kind and warm light, "Not exactly a record but you both get triple S grades for this mission."

The Black Star didn't seem all surprised at the CPU's appearance, more like relieved that she had come. Her relief doesn't last long as she saw more of the Goddesses' form. The woman in question just glanced at her and gave her a smile, "Ah, so you've noticed. Kinda ugly isn't it? I probably won't last long seeing this sight."

"Gah, it's started," grumbled Ron in a ticked tone, "Well this sure is unexpected. The corruption's already spread that much…"

"**Co-Corruption?"** repeated Chika in a horrified manner.

"This was basically what we were trying to prevent once we found a way to deal with you," replied the shape shifting creature, "A Goddess will not be able to survive long in the Threshold without being corrupted by their own egos, this is caused by their desires or regrets leading them to losing their powers. Because of the delusion they put themselves into they find it hard to ascend into Heaven where they truly belong. They may have reasons, these reasons may vary from one thing to another, point is Divine Beings turn into monsters the longer they stay here. Should a Goddess turn into a stagnant soul, then this entire dimension would be put to risk. Everything will be destroyed, you following me, mossy?"

The Oracle gazed at her CPUs arms, they were pitch black as if they were burned, the bright colors of her dress and luster of her appearance disappeared, replacing it with a more aged and obviously unkept look. There was an air of weariness and exhaustion about the Goddess, making her look as if she aged ten years. Her face seemed to be wrinkled a bit yet somehow managed to maintain a spot of happiness. One wouldn't have been capable of recognizing her were not for a few of her features remaining as well as her green hair and purple eyes.

Vert turned her attention at her closest friend, approaching her despite the dumbstruck look on the Oracle's face. Chika's eyes fell on her CPU's feet which were bare and dirty, in fact, the hem of the dress she wore was ripped in a few places. It made the Goddess look like a beauty in rags, maintaining her grace and posture despite her unsightly appearance.

"**Stop… This wasn't supposed to happen. Vert's not like this… Not like this at all!" **yelled the stagnant soul as she refused to believe it.

"Chika… It's me, please liste—"

_**SLAP**_

"**Don't touch me!" **screeched Chika while slapping the fallen Goddess' hand away. Her free hand was balled into a fist while she gritted her teeth; there was a hurricane of emotions raging within her all fighting for dominance. Vert could only give her a small smile and a sigh.

"Those words… I thought I'll never hear them again…" muttered the CPU, her voice filled with nostalgia, "Those were the first words that you said to me. My sweet, adorable Chika… I still remember. You were a… so to say a bit of a brat, yet you became a proper woman until the very end. I'm proud of you for that. Right now… Even in the afterlife we're together, not even death will bring us apart. However there are things that transcend our own desires, do you understand? I… I would love to spend an eternity here with you. But, it doesn't seem to work that way. For that, I am sorry."

"You only remained here because no one would look after her, right? That's the reason why you can't ascend, isn't it?" guessed Ron as he transformed back into his snake form, his partner ever silent as she watched the scene before her unfold. At this, the snake continued on, "You knew from the very start that you were dead and you've guessed that your Oracle has come to the same conclusion. But you felt bad about the thought of ascension; during your time here you've also come to realize this, aye?"

Vert turned her head to look at the snake and replied, "And so I waited, waited, and waited until I could leave her at the hands of someone I could deem worthy. I lived my life normally as I had when I was still alive. It brought me joy and sadness to know that Chika's with me, but this came with the fact that her life has ended. We were happy, even I thought that nothing was wrong, and… it seemed like that mindset has taken its toll."

"You overstayed your welcome and now you're at your limit, aren't you? It hurts doesn't it?" asked the shape shifting snake as he slithered through the air.

"Yes, but for this girl I would bear it," responded the CPU, "I used up the last of my divine essence just to stop you from killing each other, hence my current appearance."

The Goddess was caught by surprise as her Oracle buried her face on her chest as she began sobbing, hot tears leaving her eyes as her whole body shook. Vert then embraced her while stroking her hair like a consoling mother would to her daughter. It was then did Chika speak once more this time in her normal voice, "You're going to leave me again. This time forever… I always did what I could do get you to notice me. Yet you're too much of an idiot to see what I'm doing. Please, don't go… Don't leave me again… All I wanted was to be with you, is that so bad?"

"I'm sorry," whispered Vert as she tightened her hug on her closest friend, "Please do it…"

There was the sound of flames roaring and that of steel hitting flesh. The Oracle never let go of her Goddess up until the moment she slowly turned into sparks of blue flames. The last words to leave her lips were three simple words, "I'll see you..."

Her form was reduced into a flaming blue orb, a sign that her soul has become dormant. Vert held out her palm as the soul floated down to her, its bright light reflecting off her tainted skin. She held it close, it's warm glow negating the cold that was creeping around her body.

"If we only trusted Nepgear, this wouldn't have happened," whispered Vert in a melancholic tone, "If we only trusted her… Then we may still be alive…Our world… is gone… Rock, you knew, right? You knew about us, you met a few of my kin and learned our stories."

The Black Star avoided eye contact and looked away, refusing to answer.

"It's okay. Don't worry," assured the Goddess as she approached the girl. She took her hand and placed the Oracle's dormant soul upon it, "In this little soul, you'll find out what happened. Please, have a look at Chika's regret. I wish for you to understand…."

And then everything faded into white.

* * *

Rock sat on a large stone as she gazed into the heavens. Her twin tails swaying on her right as a breeze blew by. Black Stars don't dream yet it seemed like she just emerged from one. Her body felt tired as if she just ran across an endless plain. She lifted her right hand and gazed at the blue dormant soul in her palm.

She had but scratched the surface. She had to keep looking, the events that had been shown already happened. She had to go deeper. Shortly after giving Chika's soul to the blue eyed girl, she suddenly ascended without warning. Then again, she had fulfilled her only purpose in staying within the Threshold and deemed Rock worthy enough to find out what really happened. It's been… Three days ever since.

"Have you found anything yet?" asked a female voice.

The Black Star turned her attention to another girl sitting on a menacing black skull, two curved horns sprouting up her head as she rested her head on her palm with a bored gaze. Seeing her colleague's head shake made her release a sigh, "This is such a waste of time. I've told you my piece and you just dilly dally with yours."

"Shut it, Dead," snapped Ron as he slithered above them, earning him a pout from the green eyed girl. To his partner he said, "Why don't we try it one more time?"

With a nod, the blue eyed girl gazed at the soul, only to have it snatched from her hand, "Dead…"

"You're both doing it wrong, dimwits!" teased the horned girl while tossing up Chika's soul and catching it, "Really now, if you want to look at a soul's memories, you should do it properly."

"Hey! That's soul's not food, you bitch!" growled the snake before turning into a sword which Rock caught, "Now be a good girl and hand it back."

Contrary to what Ron requested, Dead dashed away while taking a bite out of the dormant soul, "Now sit back relax and—"

"Dead? Dead!" the blue eyed girl rushed at her colleague's side just before she collapsed, "Ron, she's not waking up."

The sword merely reverted back into a snake with a snort, "Serves her right. Looks like she's out cold— Oh she's up. Hey idiot, how you feeling?"

Much to the two partners' surprise, a small giggle escaped from the other girl's lips, "Ahh~ I get it now… So that's how they all died…"

"Found out anything?" asked Ron in an irritated tone as the green eyed girl gave him a mocking look.

"It all started with a whisper…" began Dead as she stood up and brushed her clothes, "Cause, effect, and reaction. It all began after the end of the age of the Goddesses, where the last one standing took up the mantle as True Goddess. A young broken girl named Nepgear was unlucky enough to bear the burden of all of those nations…"

"Nep…Gear?" repeated Rock with mild surprise.

The snake seemed to recall something and said, "That's the Purple Goddess' sister, right? The one who was forced to hold a cursed sword to save her world?"

With a knowing smirk, the horned girl replied, "The very same… Poor girl held the guilt of killing her friends and her own sister, all for the greater good. Ah… From these memories, I can say that she's been losing it. Her sanity slowly chipping away five months after she 'saved' her world. Her personality changed and became more cynical, even depressed at times. This lead her to push everyone she cared for away from her when they came close, thus worsening her condition. And it's not just that, it gets funnier."

"What?" exclaimed Ron, he would've had an incredulous look if he had a face, "What do you mean?"

"The sword was sentient and even after she got rid of it, the after effects of her using it consisted of the scenes of her killing everyone she loved over and over whenever she slept," explained the horned girl, "It went to the point that she began hallucinating that she could hear voices. The owner of this soul expressed concern along with a few other people. One of them, I already have inside me and I could confirm it. A girl named IF and a girl named Compa. They both made an attempt to save this girl and died in the process. Because poor little Nepgear finally snapped… The stress and guilt finally drove her over the edge and she finally succumbed to madness. By the time her two closest friends came to her aid, it was already too late.

Realizing this, she breaks down completely, releasing large amounts of power into the atmosphere of her world and unleashing chaos and mayhem all around. The owner of this soul… yes… she's heard the screams and pleas of the people. They were helpless as everything was being destroyed by their own Goddess. A sad fate for those that died. From there the will of the sword took control and moved her body like a puppet. She only powered by her loss, grief, and guilt. The consequences of emotions…"

Dead reached out and held Rock by the hand, to which the blue eyed girl saw… images…

Flames, a purple sky, buildings falling and a bright pink light obliterating a city, the screams of thousands pounding upon her ears almost making her yank her hand away from Dead's yet she held on. It looked like she was looking at a Television and that it was being reported in a news channel. It was like looking through another set of eyes and that she could see the tiny figure within the source of the light. It was a lone girl kneeling in the middle of a collapsed building and the unrecognizable appearance of a city.

Then there was a flash of light and she was back in her reality, staring into Dead's acid green eyes as she continued, "She took out millions of people and two neighboring countries leaving one left standing. The general populaces were so afraid that they resorted to doing drastic things that did more harm than good. Order was actually falling apart and the once green nation of Chika's world turned into something beyond her imagination. I'm surprised that she kept her head in the end… She sheltered the Tome of History whom was probably the only one who can stop the madness… yet she needed time. This evidently cost her life as she protected said Tome…"

* * *

"_How much time do we have?" echoed Leanbox's Oracle in stiff tone. She had the look of a person who had seen better time, granted that her world was slowly falling apart. Before her was a tiny fairy like being with blonde pigtails whom seemed to be busy attending to what seemed to be a portal. The air around was tense as explosions rung just outside their very walls, the very foundations of the Basilicom in which they stood in shook from the battle outside._

_There was a storm of emotions stirring within her yet she held it all in for this may be their last chance. The final option in which they had as Arfoire's prophecy slowly unfolded around them. She felt like panicking, running away and cower from death. Even now as she put up her tough front, he could feel her legs quaking and sweat run down her cheeks. Hugging her arms was the only way she could provide herself comfort._

"_Three minutes," replied Histoire as she turned to look at her last ally with a sad smile, "I've already made contact with the 'me' of the past and has already informed a person that will save us. We only need a few more seconds. Don't worry."_

_With a huff Chika replied dryly, "Worry? Who's worrying? I most certainly am not, no ma'am! As if having an Ax crazy girl with powers beyond comprehension will shake me off my shoes! Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"_

_The personified Tome shook her head while releasing a heavy sigh, "Please cease it with the sharp remarks. The weight that I am forced to bear is already too much."_

"_And it's not heavy enough!" snapped the green haired Oracle, "I swear Histoire, if this plan fails expect me to do the something stupid! Kei and Mina died while their respective nations were destroyed. Makes sure this plan works!"_

"_We have one minute," pointed out Histoire as she glanced at a large golden clock in the middle of the hall, "This is it."_

_**BOOM**_

"_You just had to say it," grumbled Chika as she drew a beautifully fashioned handgun from her leg and aimed it at the entrance of the hall, "I'll buy you all the time you need."_

"_Forty five seconds. Do you have the ability to shoot?" the Tome timidly asked as she recognized the weapon her fellow Oracle held._

"_This was Vert's last memento, and I think we're about to find out," replied the green haired woman just as a person dashed right out of the dust and smoke from the entrance. With inhuman speed, it managed to clear halfway of the hall before going for another burst. It took a second for Chika's eyes to catch up to the figure just before she opened fire._

_Alas, blood painted the floor before she could even could. Burning pain exploding from her side as an invisible hook seemed to tossed her into a pillar like a rag doll. As she slid down on the floor, darkness enveloping the edge of her vision as well as her mind throbbing from the pain from her side, she could barely make out Histoire's pleading screams at the distance. _

_Light blinded her darkening vision, followed by a boom which could contest a dragon. Her mind went blank for a moment as she lost the ability to hear. For some reason she couldn't feel her legs. Breathing hard, she opened her eyes to see a large debris over her leg. Judging from the open surroundings, the Basilicom blew apart in a freak explosion, thus revealing the ominous purple skies. _

_There was the sound of steel colliding against steel, earning the attention of the dying woman's gaze. The Tome of the World has secluded herself within a hexagonal shell as a girl with dark pink hair and black body suit hack and slash at its surface. _

_The fallen Goddess…_

_In a final slash, Gamindustri's remaining CPU broke through Histoire's shield with her cursed sword, Gehaburn, and slowly made her advance at the fairy like being. _

Damn it… even now…

_Gritting her teeth, Chika raised her gun and pulled the trigger. It didn't hit Nepgear yet it caught her attention, lowering her sword just after she blocked the bullet. She pulled the trigger again and fired, only to have her bullet blocked again. She fired and it was blocked again. She didn't stop firing until she had emptied Vert's gun of all of its ammo, that was when the fallen Goddess was standing over her. The hand in which held her gun fell to her side as she gave the lilac haired girl a bloodied grin. The pain was becoming unbearable._

_And then _she _came. A woman a head taller than the fallen Goddess simply walked out of a rip between realities, her dark purple hair dancing behind her. She merely raised her own sword as Nepgear's own nearly connected with her neck, parrying the attack. In one fluid move, she broke the guard of Gamindustri's CPU, thrust her hand with all her might and pierced Nepgear's stomach with her arm._

_It was over._

_The fallen Goddess collapsed, with the woman standing beside her. She then retrieved the cursed sword and broke it with her knee, tossing the remains at the side without care. Chika couldn't believe it. It was over in an instant. The most powerful Goddess felled by this person… What she didn't get was that the woman was crying… She kept a straight face as Nepgear's body faded away yet there were tears from her eyes._

_Everything went black._

* * *

Rock was silent as she stepped away from her colleague. A world just ended before her eyes. So much despair, hopelessness and pain. It was too much to bear. So that was what happened. That was the aftermath of the Goddess' deaths. All because of a girl without the strength to keep it all in.

"Now you know the truth," said Dead, not appearing to be concerned at what she and her colleague just witness, "You probably didn't want to see this, hm?"

"Horrible…" whispered the blue eyed girl, a bad taste remained in her mouth as she said that, "That was horrible."

The horned girl blinked twice before suppressing a giggle which she tried to hide, "That look on your face… It suits you perfectly…"

"Why you…" began Ron as eh was about to dive at the other Black Star only to have his partner stop him.

"The higher ups have been informed of the threat these divine beings pose," explained Dead as she walked behind Rock and whispered in her ear, "Why don't you look at that? You don't have to get involved in this anymore. You could have the others be in charge of searching for the Goddesses, however the risk of compromising this world's existence with increase that way."

"Just what the hell are you talking about?" growled the snake as he gritted his teeth.

"I'm saying that Rock-chan is the only one who'll be able to solve this little incident," replied the horned girl with a mocking smile, "After all, she's the only one who's different from the rest of us."

"But what about you?" pointed out the shape shifting snake, "Aren't you a bit too different to be a normal Black Star? Can't you at least help?"

With a laugh, Dead's response was, "My end of a bargain with the Goddess I met was that I won't be the one who'll help, I'll find someone who can. And that person is this girl. We've met six Goddesses out of eight. Meaning that there's two left or will arrive at the Threshold."

"Two?" repeated Rock as she turned her gaze at her colleague.

"Two," confirmed the horned girl, "One is unknown while the other one is that girl we just watched die. The fallen Goddess, Nepgear."

* * *

_Nicolas Notes:_

_Info dump, shaky plot, and more info dump._

_I'M LOSING MY EDGE!_

_*Sigh* I deeply apologize if this chapter is not up to your expectations. I'm just a bit busy with a lot of things. But worry not, I'll... probably make something even better... As you can see, the whole story of Leanbox was just a flashback. That's for those who didn't know. I just hope i did enough justice to the characters and Gamindustri's fall... _

_I could've done better ( ._.)_

_That's it for now. Please share your thoughts in the reviews section. They always boost morale :D_


	5. Chapter 5

The sounds of gunfire and the smell of death. The rattling of the chain guns in which she held in both of her arms was now music to her ears. She had to protect her. Otherwise she'll fail again. Her guns blazed as they fired a continuous line of bullets, taking down the foolish foes which charged at her. It was funny how they kept resorting to headlong attack when they themselves knew it was useless. Her body tensed before relaxing once more, casually aiming the chain gun on her right hand towards the right.

She pulled the trigger and watched as her bullets tore apart a girl with a large crescent axe in mid-air. Take a step to her left, she then lowered her chain guns and spun around as they came to life once more. A group of three more girls with a spear, cutlass and halberd were annihilated as they came within the line of fire. Hearing footsteps towards the alley she had left, she then aimed her guns towards it and pulled her triggers. The guns unleashed another barrage, followed by bodies falling lifeless to the ground.

Their numbers were growing.

Without warning, she raised the large gun on her left to parry an incoming attack. Emotionless blue eyes stared back at her bright green ones as she held a large sickle at bay. Giving her opponent a disinterested look, she gathered her divine strength and kicked her foe in the gut, sending the other girl flying into a wall. It wasn't even a second after that did another girl burst from the shadows with a great sword in her hands, slamming it on the ground and forcing her to move.

She slid to a halt and aimed her guns at her attacker, unleashing another barrage. Yet it seemed like this opponent was using her head for once, taking advantage of her sword's size and using it as cover. However it seemed like her luck didn't hold on for the sword she held broke easily under the bullets pelting it, filling her body with holes.

That was not the last one.

Turning her gaze into the sky, she then kicked off the ground and landed on top of the building next to her. Her green eyes surveying the horizon, she noted a number of hostiles heading her way. A smile crept upon her lips as the sun shined down on her form. The girl standing at the building's roof was fair skinned, having the hair as white as snow in cute ringlets contrasted with her black dress. On either side of her were two large guns with the length exceeding her own body, yet she held them as if they were light as a feather.

She closed her eyes and listened to the whispers of the wind. It was a peaceful song which reminded her of better times. Days before all of this happened. Opening her eyes, she caught sight of white doves flying overhead… as well as her enemies surrounding her. They all bore the same star motif on their clothes; their eyes were all of the same color and were emotionless as if they were nothing more than puppets. Their weapons were ranging from the standard sword to exotic such as a crescent blade.

"You guys just don't give up, do you?" the white haired girl asked, dropping her bulky weapons on the ground. The moment they came in contact with the concrete, a crack appeared beneath them, giving testament to their weight. Yet despite this, the girls around her didn't cow. Giving them all a confident smile, she then declared, "Well fine. I won't let you idiots get past me. So give me all you got!"

They did exactly as she said, lunging forward with the intent to kill. However they were all too slow. Their weapons met nothing but air as their target kicked off the ground and jump. The girls all watched as the white haired girl grabbed something from behind her back and aimed it at them. Five girls immediately crumpled to the ground as bullets lodged themselves on their heads while the others either blocked or evaded. The white haired girl landed on her feet and lifted her pure black handguns in front of her.

Not wasting any time, she quickly approached an opponent that had a shield up to deflect the initial barrage. She side stepped a stab from her foe's sword and fired as bullet on her head. Twirling around, she aimed at the girl charging towards her, only to have her bullets be deflected by her foe's precision blocking with a large lance. She dashed away from the long weapon's sweep and continued her assault. She won't be able to hit her enemy like this, so she settled for waiting for the right opportunity when it came.

And then it did.

The girl she was fighting made the mistake of thrusting her lance, giving the white haired girl the chance to side step and lock it with her arm. Her opponent hesitated, causing her to smile. That was all she needed to aim her gun on the other girl's head and pull the trigger. The blue eyed girl's body went limp and fell on the floor.

Uni gazed at her enemies' corpses before uttering a sigh and stood on the edge of the rooftop she was on. She inhaled deeply as she took in the sight of her old home, Lastation.

"This is where it's all going to end," she whispered, turning around while looking up, "Don't you think so, Nepgear?"

A large obsidian globe loomed over the deserted city, glowing veins of pulsating light. Thick dark root like tendrils locked themselves at the center of the city, supporting the globe as it stood. It looked like a pure black moon hovering over the city. The light in which it emitted gave out an ominous feeling.

"Don't you worry about anything since the fun's about to start," laughed Uni, addressing the large globe in the sky, "I'll protect you until the day you come out. So don't worry…"

* * *

"Ugh, I'm worried…."

"About?"

Rock navigated through the HQ's halls just for something to do while her shape shifting partner wrapped himself around her right bicep. The two didn't have much to do since they weren't assigned to any missions at the moment, hence the reason they were walking around, obviously bored out of their minds. However one of the few things they noticed as they went about was the lack of people going around. It wasn't strange to see the large ivory halls empty, but at least someone or maybe a soul would float around by now.

The only people that they've encountered so far were the metal clad guards whom stood outside the main tower. The blue eyed girl's footsteps echoed around as she strolled aimlessly through her home base. Something could be up if many Black Stars weren't off duty. Something told her at the back of her mind that there's something strange going on. She already had her suspicions a few hours earlier, yet her partner's words only strengthened her curiosity.

Responding to her earlier question, Ron expressed his concern, "Well… it's just that the higher ups have been sending large groups of Black Stars out on a mission and they all end up missing in action. Their own partners haven't returned either which could lead to the conclusion of them being killed. What I'm thinking is about how could one soul take out an entire battalion of Stars in one go, going as far as destroying their partners and not letting anyone escape."

"What if it's not a soul to begin with?" suggested the blue eyed girl nonchalantly as they entered an open area.

The snake like creature raised his head to get a better look of his partner's face. If he had eyes, he would've been blinking twice before asking, "What makes you say that?"

"Dead," Rock replied without a hint of emotion. A cold breeze blew by, causing her irregular twin tails to sway with the wind.

"Ah… her," the shape shifting snake nodded his head in understanding, "Heh, maybe it wasn't that much of a good idea to let her tell the higher ups about the Goddesses. Now everyone's on their toes for the two running around the Threshold. Since it's only a matter of time till their corruptions consume them, the higher ups have been looking left and right all over the place just to find them. Though judging by the way they're sending out people, looks like they found one, hm? We managed to send away five while Dead sent away one. There were eight Goddesses that died so two are probably due to arrive."

The girl didn't reply and merely stared into the horizon.

"This sucks," sighed Ron as he slithered away from his partner and hovered around her, "Maybe you can do some travelling around this world, maybe see the purification process to kill time. Anything just to get the damned Goddesses out of our heads…"

Rock gave him a blank look while replying, "Are they all sad because they lost their home? Or are they sad because they couldn't do anything?"

"It's not our place to worry about it. What we should do now is to do anything to avoid taking missions that'll make us inevitably meet any of those divine beings. Sounds good?" the snake asked just to divert the Black Star's attention away. This girl had given him enough problems and as much as he tolerated her actions, he was a tiny bit worried on her wellbeing whenever she got in contact with those beings. Not only that, but every time she encountered them, Rock was like a completely different person.

She became more reckless and impulsive. She wouldn't hesitate executing a plan of her own and not telling her own partner about it. It didn't help that she had a perfect poker face so one wouldn't be able to tell what she was thinking if they wanted. Therefore keeping her on the leash would be hard, especially when she decided to summon a weapon out of nowhere. If her emotions show weakness whenever she works, the higher ups will be forced to take action.

The blue eyed girl gave her partner a questioning look as if saying if it was okay.

"Don't worry about it! Besides, it's not like we'll have to do anything," Ron ended his sentence with a nervous laugh. This however wasn't enough to avert his partner's piercing gaze. Tiny droplets of sweat appeared on his head as the girl's face neared his.

"But Dead said—" she began, only to be cut off by the snake.

"Forget about what Dead said! It's not like you're the only unique Black Star here! M-Maybe someone else will resolve this?" blabbed the shape shifting entity at machine gun pace. Here she was again, he already knew that she'll use this as a reason sooner or later. This wasn't the first time she used it either and every time she did he had no choice but to dodge and change the subject. The snake silently cursed Dead for jamming ideas into his partner's brain. If he ever sees that woman again, he'll make sure to shut her up to keep her from saying stupid things.

Rock's eye suddenly closed halfway as she gave him a look of disgust, "Hopeless…"

"Charging out there without taking a mission is a violation. You'll get your ego crushed by security. As your partner, I can't have you wasting your second life away over something so trivial," pointed out Ron, giving the tone that made it clear that the discussion was over. His partner refused to look at him after that. The silent treatment was her usual method of dealing with his lectures; a sigh escaped the snake's mouth as he realized the time it'll take to calm her again.

That was the idea, except for the fact that fate seemed to be keen in meddling with their affairs.

"Trivial you say? Don't all humans die for the most trivial matters?" said a pleasant voice from behind them.

The two partners turned their attention to a young woman dressed in strange clothes, a long baggy striped pants and a veil over her head. A small smile decorated her beautiful face, her eyes twinkling with wisdom beyond the years of her appearance. Two curled horns were easily seen on either side of her head. There was an air of mystery surrounding her as she approached the blue eyed girl, her footsteps echoing all around.

Ron slapped his tail on his head as he recognized the person whom just appeared, "Why now? Why now of all times?"

"I apologize… Even my colleagues say that I have a bad sense of timing," replied the girl before turning her attention at the snake's partner, "Hello Rock, you're doing fine I see…"

"Ram…" muttered the Black Star with an indifferent tone, "What do you want?"

"You wound me Black Star 01451. Am I not allowed to evaluate your performance during your past missions and to see if you are fit for another?" asked the other girl with her unwavering smile. Unlike Dead's sadistic and sometimes playful smiles, the one Ram currently had seemed genuine and sincere. Ron always had a bad feeling whenever she was around. This girl was an entity he was not used to, all he knew was that she was a part of the Council in the higher ups are members of. An enigma whose existence was currently unknown, what he does know was that this girl has her curiosity piqued by his partner.

"Oh come on, we're on break can't this wait?" he complained with an irritated tone. Higher up or not, he won't let this girl ruin his break. He had enough trouble dealing with his partner.

"I'm afraid it cannot, Ronald," said Ram in pleasant manner, "It is due to the fact that the situation has exceeded our expectations. The number of units we were able to send out during a mission consisted of sixteen able bodied Black Stars. They were tasked to exterminate a powerful Stagnant Soul which should have been defeated in no time with their skill and numbers…"

"Should?" repeated Ron, "What do you mean, should?"

The veiled girl adopted a solemn expression at as she replied, "None of them returned alive. Same goes for their partners. Since it has come to that point, we were left to assume they were killed. You should know what happens to a Black Star should they be killed in action, correct? They become stagnant souls or if left alone in the presence of another stagnant soul gone feral, then they'll become dangerous and may turn hostile."

"And you're telling us this because?" asked the snake.

However it was his partner whom finished the thought for him. She stepped forward while crossing her arms while saying, "Mission."

Ram nodded at the Black Star's words to confirm them, "I will be assigning this mission to you and another girl. Both of you will investigate the matter of your comrade's deaths and exterminate the cause. I believe you're the only one who has to do this… Rock."

"Whoa, hold on a second, you're going send us on a suicide mission?!" Ron's jaw hung open, if he had a face then he would've had a flabbergasted expression, "You're kidding, right? You're sending us to a mission that killed sixteen Black Stars that may or may not have turned into hostiles by now? Lady, are you out of your mind?!"

"I wouldn't send Rock on a mission she won't be able to handle, have some faith in her," assured the veiled girl with her ever present smile, "Besides, if nothing is done soon… Then the Threshold will collapse."

Giving the duo one last look, Ram turned around and waved her hand in the air, "You'll be dispatched soon. I wish you the best of luck, Rock."

The Black Star watched as the veiled girl's figure disappeared inside the headquarters before leaning back on the rail behind her. Another mission involving a Goddess. She knew that Ron would be annoyed once more ever since he declared his irritation for the beings. This all began with that girl Neptune, if only she hadn't met her then would things play out differently? The suffering of these beings had were no different from the souls she had been reaping in the past.

Their regrets, guilt and fear weighed them down. Were their suffering really that bad that it had enough power to destroy an entire realm? She felt bad…

"Ron," muttered Rock as she gazed up at the sky, "Are you ready?"

* * *

Uni sat at the edge of a building, swinging her legs back and forth as she hummed a tune she had listened to all the time in the past. She sported a bored face as she watched the illusion of the sun be stuck in the horizon like a big red ball of… something. She didn't really have the creativity at the time to think of a good analogy. It was kinda sad to know that this wasn't her real home. She didn't understand why mysterious girls always tried to force their way to where Nepgear was with all of those weapons.

They seemed quite hostile too when they attacked her. She didn't know why they won't respond to her words so she had no choice but to beat them. Just what kind of world did she get herself into, and why wouldn't Nepgear come out of that globe in the sky. The white haired girl didn't exactly get how she knew her best friend was there, but she could feel her presence in that globe. She only wished that she could see her friend again; there were a lot of things she wanted to tell her.

But until that day came, she'll have to protect her with all her might. Whoever these invaders were, she won't let them come near her Nepgear. She won't fail like the last time. She made a mistake, this time she was living for her friend's sake. Her eyes settled on the deserted city of Lastation, she could hear the shuffling of the abominations that navigated through it from the building she was on. These were the remnants of the girls she defeated earlier. Now they were nothing more than monsters for some reason.

"I wonder if there's anything interesting here, Gear. I really don't know why you bother hanging around the place, but don't you think we should be searching for answers?" asked Uni, looking up at the colossal sphere that took up much of the illusionary sky. Despite realizing the cause of her death, she had no idea why she was in this world in the first place.

She had never heard of a heaven or hell, or afterlife at all. Being a CPU candidate, she was immortal in a sense. She won't be able to die through old age due to her status. She never gave it any thought until that moment when she allowed her friend to plunge the sword in. She expected oblivion, the thought of being nothing more than be part of a void as her entire existence was erased. Being sent into this afterlife of constant warfare was so new to her that it surprised her.

Time no longer mattered to her. She couldn't tell how long she's been in this world ever since she opened her eyes. Just why was she sent here and for what reason? Was this how the afterlife was supposed to be? She heard a saying once from that nurse Nepgear was always with; out of the frying pan and into the fire, she would say. Fighting monsters... earning her sister's praise and affection... wielding weapons and training to become stronger. Just how much longer will she keep holding a gun in her hand?

Weren't dead people supposed to die peacefully? Weren't they supposed to cast all of their regrets away with their mortal bodies? If so, then what was this heavy feeling deep within her. The dead weight that constricted around her throat made it hard for her to breathe. At times she felt horrible if she thought deeply about it. She wanted answers, and she just wished that someone would tell her. Asking the weird dark action girls that always wanted to kill her was a no go since... well, they wanted to kill her. She can neither ask their shambling abomination selves since that would effectively put herself in danger.

Even now she could feel her hands trembling as her breathing slowly became labored. Though by now it would be nothing more than a normal occurrence since it has been like this for quite a while. The head splitting headaches from these attacks were annoying. It would be bad if these happened while in combat. At that thought, she realized something funny; if she got herself killed in this world, would that mean she would die again? Or maybe she'll turn into those monsters that are walking the streets.

"Now that's a scary thought," she muttered to no one in particular. There was no way that would happen. After all, she tasked herself on protecting the next person she would gladly give her second life for. Looking up at the sky, she slowly wondered what Nepgear was supposed to be planning. She wondered if her friend knew she was down here, fighting to keep these weird people away.

Was it all even worth it?

A smile on her face appeared as she stood up, "It doesn't matter. From now on, Gear, you're the only one that matters."

She strained her eyes as she let her entire mind become one with the city. There was another of those weird girls with the weapons that entered her realm. No, not one, two. They were coming from the east and west. It seemed like that whoever was sending these people to fight her was finally beginning to think for once. But then again, nothing mattered anymore. Uni didn't care if she had to fight an army; as long as she protected her only friend from these people, it'll be all worth it.

"You stay put, Gear. I'll take care of the guests," she addressed the globe above her as she summoned her arsenals. A long black rifle like cannon leaning on her shoulder as she held a mini-gun on her other hand. She took a deep breath just before she jumped off her building.

* * *

"Man, this place looks creepy. We haven't seen anyone since we popped out here. You really think this is where that Goddess is? This is nothing more than a ghost town."

Rock made her way through Lastation with little trouble. The place was completely deserted and there was no sign of anyone or anything walking around. All that were there were buildings, abandoned vehicles and a gray scenery. The moist air caressed her skin as its quiet whispers reached her ears. She rubbed her arms to keep herself warm, maybe she should've brought some more clothing.

It looked no different from the Threshold's normal appearance. A cold breeze blew through the street in which she walked on. A few hours earlier, the veiled girl didn't say on who was supposed to be her teammate during this mission.

Her partner somehow deduced that it would be an unsavory person whom may have or may not have experience in dealing with a Goddess. There was only one person whom has successfully aided a Divine Being in their ascension into Heaven. Rock would prefer if she didn't meet that person or work with her at all. Ron seemed to agree with what she thought and decided if they could avoid contact with their teammate at all costs.

"Geez, this place is cold," complained the snake for the fifteenth time, "Not as cold as that place with the twins, but man…"

"Scared?" asked Rock as she continued to walk.

Ron took that the wrong way as he sputtered in disbelief, "Scared?! You kidding me? As if anything will scare me. I've seen enough crap to stop being scared."

"Liar," muttered the girl while giving her partner a glance.

"Oi, say that to my face! I'm serious here—GAK!" he was cut off as his partner suddenly grabbed his tail.

Her body tensing, the blue eyed girl looked around with alert eyes, "Something's coming."

The Black Star got into a stance as she gazed at the far end of the street she was in. The Goddess they were tracking down should be at the very heart of the city. They were sure that they were well out of its range so they won't be noticed that easily, yet for some reason why did feel like there were a large number of hostiles headed their way? Has the corruption given the Goddess the ability to summon minions?

"Uh, Rock?" muttered the snake as he transformed into a sword.

"What?" asked the blue eyed girl.

"This was the mission where all of those other Black Stars disappeared, right? And HQ was led to believe that they were all killed since none of them came back," said Ron in grim tone.

"Yes," replied Rock as she tightened her grip on her blade.

"Then wouldn't that make the fallen Black Stars into Stagnant souls?" guessed the shape shifting weapon. Rock's eyes constricted at the realization. If that was the case then there were going to be a lot of them prowling the city. It was a mistake walking through the city instead of going for the rooftops. She could sense her foes just around the corner, prompting her to lift her sword up at the ready. The number in which they had was unlike anything she has faced before; they should be rounding at the corner now. The Black Star's left eye blazed to life at the coming battle.

And then there was silence.

"Uh… Maybe they turned back?" guessed Ron guessed.

With her inhuman agility, Rock managed to avoid getting crushed by a large axe which burst through the building next to her. It attacked her blind spot! It didn't seem like her opponent only had one blade for another one came flying in ready to bisect her. She used her advanced reflexes to jump over the incoming attack. Landing on her feet, she turned her attention to the ruined building from which the attack came from. Walking through the debris of the building was a girl wearing a mask. Her arms have transformed into large heavy war axes.

A white star motif shined on her flat mask.

"Stagnant Soul, fallen comrade," growled Rock as she glared at the fallen Black Star.

Her opponent only doubled over as if hit in the by something invisible. That was the moment when six metallic limbs sprouted on her back and began acting as her legs. The mask split apart and revealed a vertical jaw with rows upon rows of sharp teeth. Its hair blazing into gray flames, it was only then did the stagnant soul complete its transformation.

"Kill it, Rock," ordered Ron, followed by his partner kicking off the ground with her sword raised.

The soul parried her strike and followed up with its own, only to exchange blows with Rock while defending herself in mid-air. After being pushed back on the ground, the Black Star dashed back to the offensive, ducking low as her opponent swept its large axe like arms. Leaping in the air as the soul swept its front with its other hand, the Black Star attacked with vicious slash downwards, severing one of her opponent's limbs. Screeching in pain, the stagnant soul redoubled its efforts in killing the girl only to achieve futility as she proved to be too fast.

The blue eyed girl dove to her side just before an axe embedded itself on the ground where she was standing earlier. Swinging her sword upwards, her blade found a weak point in her foe's weapon and instantly sliced it apart. The stagnant soul's rage seemed to increase by the second as its strange mouth began to spew corrosive smoke, forcing Rock to leap out of harm's way. She couldn't let herself get hurt so she retreated to the buildings by jumping with all her might.

Raising her sword into the air, it shined with blue light as it transformed. Rock took aim and unleashed a barrage of bullets at her foe. Explosions echoed around as the street became a battlefield, smoke rising in the air along with dust and debris. She fired one shot after the other, her eyes cold and tranquil as she relentlessly continued her assault. It was only after firing fifty explosive bullets at her target did she stop and lower her cannon.

As the smoke cleared, the mangled form of her opponent lay on the ground at a pathetic state.

"That's one," commented Ron as his partner surveyed the soul's dissolving corpse.

"Twenty nine more to go," continued Rock as she turned around and found a group of three corrupted Black Stars behind her.

The fallen ones seemed to be wearing plain masks with a white star motif on them yet their bodies were all different. One corrupted Black Star had the body of a girl in a school girl uniform, countless of scissors attached to the tendrils from her back.

The other one had a plant like body, her torso being that of a normal humanoid yet it had thick tree barks for skin. Thorned tendrils lashed up and down similar to a whip.

The third one had two transparent wings on its back as it donned a pure white armor; it was obvious that it was female since the armor seemed form fitting.

The armored corrupted Black Star raised its sword at her and led the charge. Readying her cannon, she shot the plant Black Star before front flipping to avoid the armored Black Star's blade. She blocked at the incoming scissors flying towards her and batted the rest away, spinning around and aiming at the ground the armored Black Star was on, causing it to collapse. She used the recoil from her cannon to increase her jump's height in order to avoid a barrage of sharp scissors.

As she flew through the air, she transformed her cannon into the sword to stop a giant shear from cutting her in half.

Allowing herself to fall on the roof, she dashed forward for the kill, only to have her way blocked by a huge slab of wood that she was forced to cut. It was too late when she noticed the sharp scissors headed to her from the other side.

Rock bit back a scream as they stabbed themselves in her shoulder and stomach. The amount of force behind them was outstanding, enough to blow her off her feet. The girl tumbled through the floor and quickly recovered, her sword transforming into a cannon as she did.

Her cannon roared as the bullets left it, tearing apart the plant Black Star while the scissor one moved in for an attack. Aiming her cannon at the giant shears, she fired an explosive bullet on it, immediately destroying it. She didn't waste any more time then and leveled her weapon on her opponent's head, blowing it clean off with a bang. It didn't seem like she'd catch a break as thick vines suddenly wrapped themselves on her ankles, catching her off guard as it began dragging her to its source.

Annoyed at this development, the blue eyed girl twisted her body and aimed her cannon at the corrupted Black Star, severing the vines pulling her. She readjusted her aim and fired a couple of bullets at the plant stagnant soul before jumping to her feet to avoid being impaled by the vines.

She switched weapons once more and chopped off anything that stood in her way, vaulting over a vine filled with thorns and slicing the corrupted Black Stars body in half. She didn't stop there as she followed the attack by cutting up the remains into small pieces before jumping into the air and incinerating them with a concentrated beam.

Two down.

Spinning around with her cannon, she successfully parried a strike from the armored soul but was pushed back due to its superior strength. Not cowering from the initial attack, Rock let loose her bullets yet the soul only proved to be fast just as it was strong. She had trouble following its movements until the moment it towered over her. All she could do was use her cannon to block the strike.

"Gah! I'M A CANNON, NOT A SHIELD SO WATCH IT, ROCK!" yelled Ron as the forced of the corrupted Black Star's strike knocked the blue eyed girl into the ground with enough force to make the floor collapse.

She fell through the various floors and pierced through them like a bullet would through wet paper. Her mind was hazy with pain as she fought to maintain her consciousness. It was dark and there were debris and broken objects all around her. With a grunt, she sat up while rubbing her head as she released a heavy sigh. She looked up in alarm as the ceiling collapsed with something big falling right in front of her. She barely got a glimpse of the armored soul before it kicked her in the gut.

With the difference in power between them being large, it was no surprise for her body to fly like a rag doll through the wall and into the deserted street. Her body trembled as she struggled to get back on her feet. Now she was mad. Her eye flame blazed with renewed intensity as she exchanged her weapon for a sword once more. The armored stagnant soul seemed to be giving her a curious look if it had a face as it watched her dash forward.

The Black Star wasn't surprised at all to have her initial strike to be blocked easily. She fixed her footing and side stepped a vertical slash, diving forward as the blade changed direction at the last second. Her grip tightening on her blade, she struck twice yet they were all parried before she was pushed away. Placing her weapon before her, she prepared herself for a tough fight.

Taking a step forward, her opponent rushed at her ready to cleave her in half, causing her to duck low and enter her foe's guard. Her attack came to futility as she was batted away by a metal arm, sending her crashing into a wall. She immediately got up and stood her ground, blocking a colossal strike from the armored soul and retaliating with her own. She urged her body to go faster, the flame on her eye growing stronger as she hacked and slashed.

Moving away from the armored soul's counter attack, she met its blade with her own and delivered a kick to its stomach. It staggered while regaining its footing; however it was already too late when it noticed Rock sweeping its legs with her sword, chopping them off. She didn't even allow it to recover before plunging her blade into its mask and slashing down, cutting its entire body in half. Glancing at the fallen Black Star's dissolving body; she didn't even feel a single bit of remorse for what she did. Sometimes she just hated getting hit.

"Well that went better than expected," commented Ron as he reverted back into his snake form, "But that was only three. You got any ideas where the others are at?"

Rock caught the sound of gunfire and explosions at the distance. It seemed like a fight broke out somewhere while she was preoccupied. She didn't answer her partner and simply ran to the source of the commotion.

* * *

_**BOOM**_

_**CLICK**_

_**BOOM**_

The sound of the rifle's roar pierced through the deafening bangs of the M134 Mini-gun as it unleashed hell on earth upon the stagnant souls. She held the two colossal weapons with one arm each, shrugging off the tremendous recoil like they were nothing. All of a sudden, her mini-gun ceased to release bullets before falling on the ground as she let go. She then turned around and placed her left hand underneath her rifle, setting her eyes on the sights before squeezing the trigger.

_**BOOM**_

A corrupted Black Star was torn to shreds by a single bullet. Uni dashed forward and came to a sliding halt, aiming her rifle with one eye and fired off a bullet which pierced through two of her opponents. A sigh escaped her as she loaded her weapon, she knew it was a bad idea exterminating these pests and gunning for the two intruders. Still, as she let her consciousness travel through the city, she found out that these two intruders managed to kill the monsters that got in their way. This fact was worthy of concern.

She twisted around and lifted her rifle up, successfully blocking a strike from a scorpion's tail attached to an expressionless girl beneath it. The Goddess pushed the sting away with her titanic strength and kicked the corrupted Black Star in the gut, sending her flying. Not content, she fired a bullet for good measure, hitting the flying target between the eyes. Of course the result wasn't pretty as the corrupted Black Star's head dissolved along with her body.

The CPU Candidate kicked off the ground and did a back flip, managing to avoid a large pincer like weapon and firing her gun at her next target's foot. Her bullet hit while she used the recoil to lift herself up in the air. A smile appeared on her lips as she set her large rifle into automatic burst, followed by the streaming number of bullets raining upon her defenseless foe. The corrupted Black Star's body was being torn to shreds piece by piece due to the uncountable amount of bullets piercing its body. Uni didn't stop until she landed back on the ground again, still firing her bullets which kept the enemy at bay.

She willed a green bullet no larger than her palm to appear on her hand and slam it inside the chamber of her specialize Brave Cannon. The continuous flight of lead came to a halt and gave way to the sound of a hum of power gathering in the air.

"Good night," she whispered and pulled the trigger. A narrow beam of green light left her weapon accompanied by a deafening ringing sound. The beam hit the stagnant soul dead on its chest, taking a large chunk of it off its body. It promptly fell to the ground with a thud, its body dissolving into blue flames.

Uni patted her weapon with a smile on her face while saying, "Well that takes care of that. Whoa!"

The girl was forced to dash to her right to avoid the continuous slashes of a fallen Black Star's claws. She found out that this enemy was too close for her to block or dodge, she could only close her eyes while preparing for the blades to sink in her skin. However the pain didn't come, prompting her to open her eyes.

Before her was a girl with a blazing left eye, a wicked black blade casting a dangerous light as it travelled through her attacker's torso. The soul dissolved and this new girl laid her eyes upon the CPU Candidate. Tension filled air hung between the two as they stared at each other. Did this girl… just save her?

"Goddess?" asked the blue eyed girl while tilting her head. Uni didn't know how to answer her; she suddenly came out of nowhere and didn't hesitate on killing that monster. Not to mention that the white haired girl didn't even notice her presence before she arrived.

Suffice to say this caught her off guard which caused her to stutter, "Y-You can talk?"

"Aren't you the rude one? 'Course she can talk, dumbass," an amused male voice replied. The CPU Candidate only realized that the one that talked was the sword in the other girl's hand. Of course this wasn't the first time she encountered a talking weapon judging from her past experiences. Still, she would've expected them to attack the moment their eyes met and she still didn't understand why they would save her. It was all too confusing that she didn't know what to think first.

The sword seemed to have noticed her pause and uttered what seemed to be a chuckle, "Heh, what's the matter? You slaughter all of these girls and now you're babbling on how this idiot could talk? You're kinda weird."

Uni responded by re-positioning her rifle while the Black Star readied her blade.

"Whoa, Whoa calm down there ladies. No need to start a catfight. At least not yet," the sword said nervously with a dry laugh.

"Ron… Shut up," ordered the blue eyed girl while keeping her indifferent eyes on the person before her, "Are you okay?"

"Just who are you people? And is that really the thing that you want to say when you look like you want to kill me?" Uni asked in a cautious tone. She merely placed her sight on the blue eyed girl's forehead.

The Black Star blinked twice before slowly lowering her sword. Glowing fiercely with blue light, the weapon reverted back to its original form of a black snake with no eyes. The girl then answered the Goddess' question in the same indifferent voice, "We've come to help. We don't want to fight."

"Ha! Like you'll make me believe you! You show up out of nowhere and pretend to be the heroine, how can't I be suspicious? If you don't want me blowing your head off then get lost!" snarled the white haired girl, yet the other one only stared down at the gun's barrel.

"Uh, Rock, I think she's serious," noted Ron.

A frown appeared on Rock's usually emotionless face, causing Uni to do the same and ready her trigger finger. The blue eyed girl moved her lips once more and said, "If you kill me, then you lose."

…

_Huh? What is she…_ the Goddess Candidate's train of thought faltered for a moment before she regained it, _So that's how it is… She thinks that I won't kill her… She's… She's gotta be bluffing…_

"You lie," she said out loud, her green eyes glowing with power.

"No I'm not," denied the Black Star in a calm tone.

This time, Ron decided to step in, "No she ain't, girly. As much as helping out these Divine Entities is a pain in the ass, we can't just sit around and leave you idiots running around unaccounted for. We've met a number of them already and even helped them move on. So drop the gun before you poke someone's eye out."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" questioned Uni. She can't trust them, she had to protect Nepgear. There was no way she could be swayed by their words, they weren't true anyway.

"ASIC... Deity of Sin... Gamindustri... these words are familiar, yes?" Rock said while tilting her head to the side. The moment she heard those words, the CPU Candidate's entire body went rigid. It's been a long time since she heard someone else say those words, but she could recognize them as easily as she could shoot. A stream of memories flashed by her inner eye, painful memories that she tried so hard to push back. She slowly began to wonder how this mysterious girl managed to get this information. Maybe these assassins sent to kill her really did know something.

She nodded her head as she confirmed the Black Star's guess, "I… know them. But why..? Tell me… where am I? What is this place? Is this really the afterlife? Why… Why is this happening? The others… what happened to them? Tell me, tell me everything!"

Uni dropped her rifle and walked towards the blue eyed girl. There was something in her eyes that the Black Star hasn't seen before. It wasn't despair, worry, grief or sadness which souls usually had. She managed to recognize it as desperation. The mixture of hope and fear which drove various beings to great lengths and achieve amazing and horrifying feats.

So this is what it looked like.

"Will you calm down, dammit! Geez, you sound like a starving puppy and it's driving me nuts," Ron complained as he cleared his throat and began an abridged explanation on how things worked in the world known as the Threshold. He explained the strange events that had been occurring and the gravity of the situation brought by the appearances of Divine Beings in a tainted world. As he did so, he further elaborated on the point of how destructive the results of a Divine Being's power could cause.

The story of Neptune's appearance, Blanc's rescue mission, the tale of Vert's will and the truth from Chika's memories, and finally the request for aid Uni's very own sister had raised, Noire's plea for someone that could help, all of those were recounted in the briefest manner. When the snake had finished, the CPU Candidate could only move away while shaking her head. It was too farfetched to believe. But then again, she believed that someone dear to her was sleeping within that black globe in the sky.

If this was all true, that her sister and the others were safe, then what was there to fear? She could easily take Nepgear out of that big sphere and go to where the others were. She wanted to see everyone, to be in their company once again. But why did it feel like only half of her mind wanted that?

That's right… the magic word was 'if'…

But then again no one else knew of the people she had been told but her. She was in a different world so how could this girl know? There was the chance that it could be a trick, some sort of ability allowed her mind to be read. Yet she could tell that from this blue eyed girl's words, that she was only hearing the truth.

_I have to get away… There's no way it can be true…_ thought Uni as she gritted her teeth. She had to get away, so she did the only thing she could do back then. She kicked off the ground and dashed out of sight. Rock didn't even have the time to say anything when the other girl suddenly disappeared.

"Wow, so fast," commented Ron as he stared at the alleyway Uni had disappeared into, "I got a bad feeling… follow her?"

The Black Star didn't understand why the Goddess ran away, but she agreed with her partner on his suggestion, "Let's go…"

* * *

Rain fell from the gray heavens as it mirrored the former Candidate's state of mind. Puddles splashed as she dashed through her illusionary world at impossible speeds. Running away just like that was a complete mystery to her. She would've crushed and filled that girl with holes like she did to her past opponents. Yet why did she feel as if something dark and cold was slowly wrapping itself around her throat.

She couldn't leave, she was scared, she had no intention of meeting that girl once more. She didn't want to deny those truths as lies. If her sister was with her now, then what would she say? Probably something along the lines of 'you're doing something stupid again' or maybe 'will you get a grip, that's no way to act as a CPU'. If her sister had ascended, then would that mean that the blue eyed girl has come to send her away too? Looking up at the black globe beneath the heavens, she silently thought to herself.

"No," gritting her teeth, she kicked off the ground with enough force to jump over a building. Landing on a crouch, she stood up and gave the direction she came from a hateful glare, "I'm stronger than this… That girl said that a corruption was capable of taking hold of Divine Beings… If my sister, Neptune and the others were all affected, what's there to say that me and Nepgear aren't too… I have to get to that sphere; I'm going to save you Nepgear…"

"Dear me, dear me… What a wonderful resolve you have," giggled a poisonously sweet voice.

Uni tensed and summoned a handgun, twisting to her side and leveling it with her eye. As she did so, there was a movement in the air and sound of a blade singing, just before she knew it a three pronged sword was pointed beneath her chin.

In an irritated tone, she hissed vehemently, "And you are?"

"You could call me Dead," replied a horned girl dressed in a white sleeveless shirt and black leggings. Her acid green eyes stared with a sadistic light at the former candidate's leaf green ones.

There was this twisted aura surrounding her new opponent which made her gun tremble in her hand. The white haired girl swallowed the lump in her throat and got ready to pull the trigger. If only she created some distance between this horned girl and her, she might've been able to summon her Brave Cannon. What puzzled her most was that this girl managed to sneak up on her like the blue eyed girl from earlier; she couldn't feel a single trace of a presence back then.

"Spunky, so unlike your sibling, hm? At least that girl was more polite," said Dead with a smile, causing Uni to frown and squeeze the trigger. However something hard and powerful slammed into her gun's muzzle, jerking her hand away from the target and forcing the gun to fire on reflex.

She sent a dangerous glare at the horned girl whom could only continue smiling.

Summoning another handgun, the former candidate swung her hand upward and fired. Of course, the other girl expected this and acted accordingly by casually deflecting the bullets even after her opponent decided to use both of her guns which fired alternately.

"Don't you dare talk about my sister so casually, you trash," growled Uni over the barking of her weapons. So this girl knew about her sister too? She spoke as if she knew her and had interacted with her. The movements of this girl and the blue eyed one were similar, like they were both of a whole new level than the others she had encountered.

Stifling a yawn, Dead merely swung her sword a round while giving the white haired girl a bored look, "Are you done yet? You aren't very entertaining…"

"I'll blow you away!"

The Black Star raised an eyebrow as she noticed a blue glow come from within the barrel of the gun on Uni's left. Cracking a smirk, she snapped her fingers as a trail of blue light left her opponent's gun. The former candidate held her breath as her attack bounced off a large black object which suddenly fell from the sky. She was so caught off guard that she didn't notice the ground rumble beneath her by the last second, prompting her to use her instincts by diving to her right.

There was a loud crash as she stared at another large black object came in contact with the other one. She would've been crushed had she not moved. Unfortunately, the horror didn't stop there as the two objects suddenly formed eyes, acid green ones to match their mouths. With the rubble falling beneath them, two jet black skulls loomed over the white haired girl as if prepared to devour her.

"Hold it Skull-chan, you're scaring her," mused the horned girl as she strutted to one of the giant skull's side and leaned on it, "If you do that she won't be able to answer us."

Uni lay motionless as she gripped her weapons on either side of her. Just… what happened? She was beaten in no time like it was nothing. How could such a thing be possible? This woman was definitely something else; witnessing her strength chilled her to the bone. It was like… that time…

A memory flashed within her mind and found that instead of a horned girl with black hair standing over her, she saw a devastated girl with lilac hair holding an ominous blade.

"G-G-Gear…" stuttering at the image, it slowly disappeared as she was pulled back into reality. Having this happened forced her to let out a shout, "OUTTA MY SIGHT!"

Dead was quick to react by hiding behind her skulls; however the ring of power which spread was strong enough to even push her two absolute shields, "You're quite the interesting little puppy too, you know?"

"I don't know who you are…" the former candidate unsteadily stood up with her weapons raised, "But I swear I'm going to beat you to the ground…"

"Ah, but before you do that, can I ask a question?" asked the horned girl while taking a peek from behind her shelter. Witnessing this carefree attitude only increased Uni's irritation twofold yet she kept herself from attack seeing as she hasn't found an opening yet. Dead on the other hand took her silence as a gesture to continue in which she did, "Tell me something, what is that large ball floating in the sky, hm? I've run around and investigated it while clearing off the pests in your realm but I've never seen anything like it. The feeling it's giving off…. It seems otherworldly… I just can't pin it down…"

_No… She can't guess… She wouldn't! _Uni felt a bead of sweat slide down her forehead. Fear bit on her heart as she silently prayed, this girl wouldn't have noticed.

"A world within a world… You were protecting this other realm from the rest of the Threshold, hm?" deduced Dead while licking her lips. She walked right out of her cover and leaned on her sword, "Well, that explains why. You see, I've encountered a case similar to this so that's probably why I felt this familiar feeling. You may have no knowledge of this, but you may just have unconsciously moved your world right on top of that one. For what reason though? To protect it? Why? Is what you're hiding that important? Or…"

A cat like smile spread across her face, "Is the other Goddess hiding up there?"

There was a bang followed by polygons gathering in the air on either side of Uni, forming two cylinder shapes made of black and silver metals. The air hummed with power as the two cannons gathered energy, releasing a burst of green light along with a thunderous roar. The beams tore through the ground and flew straight to her target, bearing enough power to create a ring of force as they connected with the two black skulls.

Hiding behind her sentinels, the Black Star had a clumsy look on her face while scratching the back of her head, "Woops, I'll take that as a yes then."

"Don't you dare mention my sister! You don't know her!" snapped Uni as she intensified her attacks.

Dead cracked a smile as she kicked one of her skulls, sending it flying forward eventually picking up speed with its levitation ability. The former candidate used her cannons to bat away the flying skull, countering with a beam blast stronger than the previous ones. Still retaining her smile, the horned girl ordered her remaining sentinel to swallow up the beam.

She blew the former candidate a kiss while saying, "Now, Now… What would your sister say if she saw you acting like this, hm? What barbaric strategies… What do you hope to achieve by keeping the existence of your friend above a secret? It'll be all useless you know? Black Stars and other Stagnant Souls will swarm this place and cause havoc either way due to the taint you two are gathering. It's only a matter of time before your sanity break and you succumb to your own regret. Yet I ask you now as to why are you doing this? Guilt? Are you trying to atone for some past mistake? Are you trying to delude yourself by having someone depend on you? Which is it, girl?"

"I'll put a bullet between your eyes and—" the white haired girl choked on her words at the sound of metal being crushed. Her eyes turned to the side as she witnessed one of the jet black skulls tearing apart one of her cannons like wet paper. Her attention was then brought to the noise of a blade travelling through the air. She managed got manipulate her remaining cannon before her to block the incoming attack.

Dead's sword sang as it cut cleanly through Uni's weapon.

"You know…" she whispered, her lips within an inch from the former candidate's ear, "The deal I made with your sister was only to find someone that could help. There was no mention of me not being able to inflict bodily damage to you. After all…" she adjusted her sword and swung it at her opponent's neck, "I am the Grim Reaper…"

_Am I… going to fail again..? Nepgear…_

_**CLANG**_

Sparks came to life as two swords connected with each other. Uni felt a tug from behind her which promptly sent her flying. As she landed on the ground, her breath was escaped her as she saw the person who saved her. A thin sword, twin tails swaying with the wind filled her vision. Her lips unconsciously moved on their own as she whispered a word, "….Sister…"

"What are you doing Rock? You really didn't think I was going to finish her, hm?" teased Dead in a sweet tone.

The person that saved her was the girl from earlier. The blue eyed girl with the flaming eye, Uni didn't understand… why did she look so much like her sister. Not responding to the horned girl's provocation, Rock glanced behind her and muttered an order, "Get up…"

An electrifying sensation ran through the former candidate's body. The appearance of this girl and Uni's sister weren't that all similar, their personalities didn't quite match either, yet she didn't understand the familiar feeling welling up inside her. Gritting her teeth, the white haired girl stood up on her unsteady feet. She had to remain strong; it was obvious that the horned one had something horrible in store for Nepgear, the blue eyed girl however…

"Why did you save me?" she asked as she held her arm.

It seemed like that Rock was too occupied fending off Dead to reply, so her sword did so for her, "Is this really the time, girly? Do we really need to come up with an excuse to save you? We did it because we wanted to, you got a problem with that?!"

"But I'm…"

"Just let them do what they want, dear~" said the horned girl, her sword uttering a clang as she dashed away from her colleague, "Besides if they can't at least do this much, then they aren't qualified to be your helper!"

"I'm sensing a flaw in that reasoning, you arrogant bitch," growled Ron as his partner charged at Dead and exchanged blows, "Anyway, why don't you just mind your own business, we could perfectly handle everything here, right Rock?"

Rock parried an overhead slash and followed with a lightning fast thrust attack, breaking through Dead's guard and pushing her away.

The way this girl fought was just like her sister fighting to protect her during _that_ battle. She always put Uni first before herself which ended up in her getting injured. She didn't wanted anyone else to help her. She didn't want the same thing to happen. She hated being protected; she wanted to be strong, independent, reliable. The sick feeling of having to live under someone else's shadow never left her, that was the reason why she felt so compelled on protecting Nepgear in this world.

She wanted to change, to break through the chains that tied her down and become powerful. Being weak… there was nothing more she hated than being weak.

To be recognized as someone you can trust and lean on, Uni only wanted to stand on her own feet. Gazing at the two combatants, she took a step forward and raised her voice, "Hey you old hag!"

Rock acquired a cut on her cheek as Dead's blade increased in speed at the last second. A foreboding feeling bounced inside her stomach which forced her to put some distance between her and her colleague. She watched as the horned girl's eyes were hidden beneath her fringe, the shadows hiding her eyes suddenly lit up with two green balls of light. A chilly breeze ran through the blue eyed girl's body at the sudden change of mood which made her ready her sword.

The horned girl on the other hand slowly turned her head to the former candidate. There was a smile on her lips yet one would be able to tell that every inch of it was false, in a hissing tone she then asked, "**Yes~? Could you kindly repeat that, dear~?"**

"I'm talking to you, you cur. I don't care if you cut me up, wreck this world, or give me hell. I'm dead anyway so I'll take you on with my own power. I'm not some weak worm like you that needs to be protected. Don't compare me to someone as pathetic as you! I fought the four felons and freed the four CPUs. I defeated countless of monsters and dueled with the fallen Goddess herself! There's nothing that I can't hit with my gun and I'll prove it to you!" Uni summoned her Brave Cannon and aimed it at the horned Black Star, "I… am the CPU Candidate of Lastation, BLACK SISTER! I WILL OVERCOME MY OWN SHORT COMINGS AND I WON'T LET A BUG LIKE YOU STOP ME!"

_NGP…_ narrowing her eyes, she then pulled the trigger, _GO!_

It seemed like Dead was a too stunned by the girl's boast that she barely had the time to call her sentinels to block the attack. Giving her opponent a mocking smile, she used her sword to block the attack yet the power behind it still sent her flying. Due to the impact focusing on her feet, she was launched upwards where she couldn't move freely. She tried calling for her skulls yet every time she did, Uni would only shoot them away with four consecutive shots, delivering another six to Dead whom desperately used her sword to fend them off.

"**Don't get cocky, girl!**" taunted the horned Black Star as she hacked apart the bullets flying towards her.

"Eat this!" replied the former candidate as a black beam left her cannon.

The attack pierced through the air with an impossible speed. A second didn't even pass before it was right in front of Dead. It hit her right on the stomach and could only watch as she was consumed by the explosion.

_**BOOM**_

It looked like a small star was born just by looking at the orange explosion. From the smoke and ash, a single figure fell from the aftermath and was headed straight for the ground. Rock stepped aside just before her colleague's knocked out form crashed near her. The horned girl seemed out for the count as she lay there unmoving. She was still quite alive if not for the burn marks and rip clothing all over her body. It didn't look like she was getting up any time soon.

Rock turned her gaze at the white haired girl not too far away from her. The determined expression she saw on that face, it seemed uplifting somehow.

"You sure know a lot, don't you? Just like this hag?" said Uni with a smirk on her face, "The reason why I kept my existence for this long… You said that Divine Beings become tainted after staying here for a while, right? Despite that, I want to continue living. I'm going to endure everything for a person I care for…" She raised her cannon and aimed it at the blue eyed Black Star, "Even if it's just for that! So that's why… if you don't beat me then I'll force myself to stay! I'll stay until someone destroys me! So that they can replace my new mission to save Nepgear!"

"What do you want me to do?" asked Rock, her eyes never leaving the former candidate's.

"This may be your final chance. I want you to make me ascend by beating me in battle," replied the white haired candidate, "That's the only way you can get through me and head for that globe… Are you ready?"

* * *

_**BANG**_

A black sphere left Uni's cannon with a sound that was similar to an erupting volcano. However just as her bullet killed the distance mid-flight, it exploded. Surprised, the former candidate squinted her eyes as she attempted to see through the smoke. What she saw was that Rock had her own cannon raised and was merely putting it at her side. A bright blue flame danced at her left eye as the fight began to heat up.

Retaliating, the former candidate shot a beam of yellow light which was promptly dodged by the blue eyed girl. Rock delivered six consecutive bullets from her cannon which forced her opponent to move too. At this rate, the rooftop they were standing on would collapse and the battlefield will have to change. The craters and holes which were made obstructed their movement, making it hard for them to shoot at each other while on the move.

A gun battle was just the same as a sword fight, you can't lose your balance or else you're dead. They had to fight their hardest, obstacles be damned they will destroy their opponent. Both of them couldn't afford to lose. Three of Rock's bullets collided with Uni's own, creating explosions similar to three hand grenades going off.

"Rock, I need you to think! Use the battlefield to your advantage, we have the element of surprise so do something about it!" ordered Ron which caused his partner to think for a split second.

Just what was this element of surprise he was babbling about? In an open field such as this, there was no way she could hide and plan an ambush to eliminate an enemy. Could he mean that she had a trick up her sleeve without her recognizing it? If so, then what? But he mentioned to use the battlefield to her advantage, could that mean using something that the current battlefield could produce? Then that would be dust and debris. That was it! If she could use the dust as cover, then it would be perfect to come up close and personal.

Her eyes widening, the Black Star quickly aimed at incoming beams and neutralized them. The resulting explosion deafened her temporarily, causing two beams of light to escape her notice and land a few feet away from her. She was tossed into the air by the blast, rolling on the ground before quickly recovering and returning fire.

She had to endure the pain of her body as the beams nearly grazed her. Standing up from her kneeling position, she charged forward while continuing to release her bullets. Swinging her cannon arm to the left, she used the recoil to give her enough boost for a dash to the right. Firing a charge shot which collided with one of the former candidate's bullets, Rock was then lost in a black haze.

At first, Uni was surprised yet her instincts screamed at her that something bad was going to happen. A split second later, a silhouette burst through the smoke with sword in hand, she was so panicked that her bullet missed by a large margin. She had no choice but to block Rock's sword with her cannon, summoning a handgun with her free hand and positioned it right in front of her opponent's face. A hole appeared on the Black Star's twin tail as the bullet flew right through it.

"Amazing, you didn't even flinch," complimented the white haired girl as she stood her ground. Gathering power through this world of hers, she then prepared to release the strength she kept hidden, "But let's see you survive this!"

The Black Star was launched backwards by the Goddess' power, tumbling through the ground as she was hit by bullets all over her body. Just as she was about to stand up and run, a powerful beam engulfed her and sent her flying. She crashed down from the building and into the street.

With a triumphant smile on her face, Uni ran up to the side of the building to snipe her prey from high ground. However a lump formed within her throat as she saw her opponent's cannon change.

"Volcane," whispered Rock as her cannon shined with blue light. Unlike her previous weapon, the heavy machine gun had less bulk yet was still large enough to be carried by both of her arms beneath her waist. There was a click and the gun sprayed countless of bullets at a seemingly endless pace. They all connected with the building stood upon, completely obliterating the middle section without mercy, causing the roof to slowly collapse and crumble.

She watched as her opponent fell along with the debris, disappearing behind the dust and smoke.

"Well… I think that was overkill…" commented Ron with a sigh. His partner kicked around some fallen cartridges before turning her attention back at the smoke which began to dissipate. Spotting her enemy rise up from the debris, she didn't waste any time giving the girl a chance to retaliate.

"War hammer," she muttered as she swung her machine gun to her right while it transformed. Her new weapon didn't resemble a hammer at all, more like a jet black axe with a long handle.

Twirling it once above her head, the axe's blade shined with blue light as it cut through the air, releasing an explosive power forward. In her dazed state, the former candidate looked like a sitting duck before getting a direct hit. She was blown off her feet and landed in a heap into the rubble. Once the attack concluded, Rock released a sigh as her weapon reverted back into a cannon. If this kept up then she'll be eventually worn down. Fighting with three souls was one thing, battling an overpowered deity was another.

Just how long can she keep up with this?

It was her turn to be blown away as a beam of light struck her torso. She grasped at the side of the broken wall she entered to support her body. Her eyes met with Uni's for a moment before she sprinted out of the second shot's way. Transforming her cannon, she used her inhuman speed to cross the street while dodging the rain of sniper shots. Once or twice she had to slash at the bullets she couldn't dodge. Kicking off the ground, she ran across a building's wall, leaping into the place the former candidate hid herself.

Uni stood up and stepped to her right as the Black Star came down on her. She used her Brave Cannon to defend herself yet it didn't seem that useful in close combat.

"Damn it!" she cursed as Rock blocked the butt of her gun and kicked her knee, forcing her down. The Black Star managed to hack apart the cannon just in time to receive a full burst fire from the white haired girl's handguns. Gritting her teeth, she blocked several of the bullets and slashing forward only to miss.

Too late did she realize that Uni managed to get behind her, promptly kicking her mercilessly and sending her tumbling forward. The blue eyed girl only came to a grinding halt when she stabbed her sword into the ground, her lips dribbling with blood yet she paid it no mind. A Black Star's healing capability surpassed that of a normal human yet one hit in the vitals would be enough to destroy her form, reducing her into a dormant soul.

"Well? Had enough yet?" asked the former candidate as she released her empty magazines, she promptly replaced them by using her will.

Sensing his partner's labored breathing, Ron began to express his concern, "This isn't looking good. We're going to get our stuffing beaten out at this rate… Damn, should we run for now or fight? Either way we're screwed."

"We fight," replied Rock, the flame on her left eye roaring with new life.

She took a step forward… And dashed. Parrying and deflecting everything that came in her way, the Black Star relentlessly fought through the hail of bullets the former candidate unleashed upon her. Uni kicked off the ground and jumped forward, shooting the girl beneath her as she did. When she landed, the blue eyed girl had her within blade reach, forcing her to dodge the strikes with all her skill. Every thrust, slash, and lunge forced her to rely on her divine powers to evade them all.

During then, she managed to bat away her opponent's sword and fired her gun. It missed yet Rock managed to cut Uni's cheek in return. The candidate delivered a kick to her foe whom doubled over from the impact, followed up with a roundhouse kick yet the Black Star refused to stay down and merely lashed out with her sword. At this, Uni slowly started to become alarmed. The sword strikes became more fluid and unpredictable; her dress was getting cut up along with her skin. She gazed into the other girl's eyes and it looked like she was under a trance. Rock finished her chain with a spinning slash.

Pushed back by the sudden reversal, the white haired girl cursed under her breath before turning around to run. She ran up a fallen pillar and escaped within a hole on the ceiling. Seeing her enemy suddenly run away, Rock felt relieved that she was making progress. However celebration could wait later, she quickly followed her opponent upwards.

Rain… Rain hit her the moment she went outside. Rock gazed at the ruined rooftop, only a small portion managed to survive the assault she laid upon it earlier. Surprisingly enough, the spot where Dead collapsed remained intact. But her eyes were only meant for Uni at the moment. Her enemy stood waiting at the top of a water tower, her drill like hair dripping wet in the horrible weather. Despite that she maintained the image of a beautiful Goddess even when wearing tattered clothes while her arms were riddled in healing cuts.

"This is the final stage!" called the former candidate, her voice overcoming the sound of falling water, "I'm at my limit…. Show me what you got!"

She raised her handguns before her and leapt from the water tower and into the air and unleashing a volley of glowing white bullets. Rock ran to the side to avoid the initial attack while transforming her sword into a cannon, running up the highest point of the rooftop and jumping into the air too. The two girls shot at each other without restraint, the Black Star with her flaming cannon bullets and the former candidate with her white missiles. It seemed like a picturesque scene between the two combatants should someone be witnessing this.

Rain fell, flashes lit, bangs echoed, the roar of a girl's desperation, and the flight of the doves.

Uni pulled her trigger over and over again. She was being hit and she could see that the other girl was experiencing the same pain as she is now. She could hear her own heartbeat.

_**BA DUMP**_

_**BA DUMP**_

_**BA DUMP**_

Her shoulder was hit, the gun in her left hand falling into the ground and disappearing. She failed to feel her leg once another bullet hit it. Like a defiant angel falling from heaven, she kept shooting…

_Sorry Gear… I'm sorry…_

* * *

In the aftermath of the battle, the area of the city they were in was reduced into a warzone. Craters, fires, smoke, and debris were scattered everywhere. Luckily, it was an illusionary world so there was no one but those who participated in the battle was hurt. The asphalt had this wet smell upon it while it mixed with the black fumes of the city of Lastation. The rain seemed to have vanished too as the clouds parted and gave way to light.

Dead sighed as she registered all of this into her throbbing brain. She rubbed her arm as he walked to the edge of the building she was in; she was quite surprised on the scale of the damage her colleague's fight brought. Even she can't compare to the level of destruction around her. Well, not like it mattered. Her acid green eyes turned their gaze at the street below, fixing themselves on a battle worn girl kneeling beside a fallen one before her.

Jumping down from the building without even flinching, she approached the two individuals on the street. She wanted to say something witty about the situation yet she kept her mouth shut. As disgusting as she found the scene before her, she couldn't ruin her darling Rock's heartfelt moment with this Goddess. They seemed to have not minded her presence.

A few minutes passed and the fallen girl spoke, "Will I really see them again?"

"Yes," it was Rock whom answered in a soft tone, "Your family…"

"But… Nepgear… Will you take of her for me?" asked Uni, keeping her eyes fixed on the sky, "At this rate, I won't be able to do anything… I won't be able to go back… I won't be able to save her…"

"Stop whining already, we already told you we'll help you didn't we? Geez…" the talking snake said this in his usually snarky manner. Dead always found it annoying yet it seemed like the white haired girl found him amusing.

"Sorry… I'm just scared…" she admitted with a sad smile.

"What are you afraid of?" asked Rock as she blinked her eyes.

"I was weak… I couldn't beat you… And I can feel myself turning into a monster… I'm scared of what everyone will say… I failed again, I couldn't protect Nepgear when I promised too…" answered Uni with trembling lips.

"You're strong," this time, it was Dead who spoke. Of course, this gathered the attention of the snake and the blue eyed girl, causing her to sigh as she continued, "I'll have to agree with the reptile, stop whining already because it makes you look pathetic. Being beaten by a pathetic twerp like you, it hurts my ego you know? Grow a spine and suck it up."

The three of them were silent for a few moments before Ron finally spoke, "Well… Never knew you were the sympathetic type."

"Heh, she's right though," giggled the former candidate, "I should be strong… I can leave Nepgear at capable hands now… right?"

Rock ran her fingers down Uni's cheek, wiping her tears before saying, "Right."

With a bright smile, the CPU Candidate of Lastation ascended leaving behind one message.

_I'll be back! I'll definitely help you!_

As the final specks of light left the Threshold, Uni's illusionary world vanished and was replaced by the normal landscape of a wasteland. Rising from the checked floor, Rock gazed at the dark globe before her with her blue eyes. It all ends here.

"Well Rock… You ready?" asked Ron as he turned into a sword.

Dead on the other hand crossed her arms and said, "Hmph, I've had enough for one day. This is your problem so deal with it."

"We didn't ask you!" the sword angrily snapped.

The blue eyed girl merely took a step forward to approach the globe, the illusionary world of the Fallen Goddess, Nepgear…

"I'm ready… I'll save her…"

* * *

_Nicolas Notes: Hrm, not much to say other than this chapter felt epic. Pure undiluted action with minimal dialogue. heh, I apologize for any sort of mistakes in grammar or lore, please bring them to my attention in the reviews sect._

_Originally I didn't plan on writing about Uni but I couldn't just leave her out. Especially after I saw this epic art of her fighting BRS... Yeah... Well I'll see you all in th next chapter. The final act in which Rock faces off with the Fallen Goddess... _

_Nepgear._


	6. Chapter 6

The crunching of the twigs beneath her feet echoed throughout the vast pillars of trees. She was out of breath yet she kept walking, desperately trying to keep up with the person before her. Putting one foot ahead of the other, she then turned her eyes away from her sister's back. Looking around, they were all alone. No other living creature was in sight, just roots and more trees. She slowly began to wonder why her sister would bring her to such a place. Not only that, but she somehow felt different.

The girl placed her hand on her chest. She could feel her own heart throbbing faster and faster. A sick feeling similar to those she had experienced quite a lot recently. It scared her, she could feel her knees quake as if they would collapse at any moment. Things weren't going so well ever since that meeting. Everything they cared for, everything they worked so hard to accomplish were all being destroyed by their own hands. She hasn't gotten any decent sleep these past evenings because if she so as much closed her eyes then she would have to relive this week all over again.

Whether it was dreams or nightmares, her mind was always filled with the images of her friends…. Friends that she cast aside and abandoned.

Somehow… She wanted to be like her sister. She knew that her sister was just as damaged as she was but she had no idea on how she could still smile like that. The bounce on her steps never missed a beat, her voice still rang with that energetic tone, and she didn't seem to be bothered at all. Her sister was strong and she couldn't help but admire that person…. The person that was always ahead of her… The one who kept pulling her forward… The same sibling she cared for the most.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she almost fell, fortunately she was able to right herself at the last second. This managed to get her sibling's attention.

"Careful now, if you don't look where you're going then you're going to have a nasty fall!" called her sister, a smile decorating her face.

The girl's lips parted and uttered a few words, "Sorry, I was just thinking about a few things…"

"Aw, come on! That's no good at all," teased her sibling, crossing her arm while walking backwards, "We're here in the great outdoors! Try and chill out a little. Turn that frown upside down or else' you'll turn into an old hag. Might take your mind off and let it fly in the air!"

"But I can't…" her voice trailed off into silence as she looked away from her sister's curious gaze.

"Nepgear."

This made the girl look at her sibling. Her sister rarely called her by that and insisted on using a nickname she gave her a long time ago. To hear her sibling say her name was more than enough to gather her attention.

"We're almost there. Come on, let's get going, the finish line is just around the corner, you know? Moping now won't do any good!"

Nepgear reached out with her hand while saying, "Neptune…"

A girl with short purple hair stood before her. The image of her sister became clearer and clearer as she approached. Neptune offered her hand with a grin on her face, "Cheer up!"

The lilac haired girl suddenly came to a halt. She closed her eyes and whispered to herself, "How… Could I cheer up..? When you're already gone…"

Opening her eyes she saw her hand thrust out forward. Within its grasp was a wicked dark purple blade made out of pure energy, a malicious power engulfing it in an eerie neon glow. Its blade was stabbed right into her sister's chest, the other CPU's body slowly dissolving in a blue green light. She didn't want this… She didn't want to see this scene again. Just who would want her to experience losing her sister all over again for a thousand times? It was the worst, she didn't want it, she wanted this feeling gone.

Nepgear didn't know what to do back then. The fate of everything was rested upon her shoulders so she was forced to do all of those merciless things. She killed her best friend, killed two kids that were like siblings to her, killed people she cared for, and now her beloved sister. She chose this path knowing what she was getting herself into but the magnitude of the pain and despair she felt was unimaginable.

"Neptune… Neptune… I'm sorry… I'm really, really sorry…." She sobbed as she pulled Gehaburn out of her sister's body.

Blood didn't come out but instead a gaping hole filled with blue green light was left in Neptune's chest. Her sibling gave her one last smile before the light disappeared from her eyes. The blue green glow surrounding her body disappeared and was transferred into the sword which the lilac haired girl held, leaving behind the dead body of a young girl lying on the forest floor.

The blade felt heavier and Nepgear's body felt like it just woke from a good night's sleep. However seeing the situation before her, she felt more sick than refreshed. She did it again… She killed her sister again… Just like everyone else. Was this her punishment? Was this the price for all of her crimes? If so then she rightly deserved it. It was all her fault after all. If she was only stronger then she would've been able to prevent this from happening. If she was just a bit stronger then everyone would've defeated the final boss and go home happily.

But then fate was never kind.

Wet hot tears slid down her cheeks as she gazed at Neptune's unmoving form. She could never get used to this…

Nepgear turned around to see the countless corpses of her sister scattered all throughout the area. The trees, the sky, the floor, all were collapsing one purple hexagon at a time. As the illusion disappeared, a black and purple world was revealed all around her with her feet standing on a pink metal platform. Her vision only showed her the bodies of her dead sister all over the place, making her feel frustrated and disgusted. This was the reminder of the number of times that scene replayed itself.

In this black void of a world, she was forced to relive that time over and over again. She can do nothing but watch and experience it every single time.

"I really am weak… I really can't do anything by myself…" she whispered as she attempted to smile, "I'm… I'm all alone… I'm sorry… everyone…"

It was the beginning of the end…

* * *

The landscape rushed at the edge of Rock's vision as she ran. Jumping from cliff to cliff, she used every bit of her strength to race towards the base of the colossal black globe. The amount of power she could feel resonating from that thing was enormous, giving her mild headaches every time its surface glowed with purple light. Circuit like lines snaked through the globe's exterior whenever it glowed, giving it a breathtaking sight for anyone on the ground.

However now wasn't the time to admire the scenery. The Black Star was already running out of time. Her ruined poncho laid testament on the intensity of her previous battle not even an hour ago. As soon as the Goddess protecting the other one's world disappeared, she didn't waste any time standing around and immediately dashed towards the globe. She had left Dead behind seeing as that girl won't prove any use and would be more likely to ruin everything if she took her along.

She knew what she was up against, taking down one Goddess was already a struggle, fighting against another would be considered suicide. She couldn't blame Dead for not coming, the two of them were severely weakened and even if they were to team up, they would most likely be defeated. But Rock was as stubborn as ever and chose to plunge right ahead instead of resting.

"We're almost there. You sure you're okay with this? We fulfilled our mission so…"

"Goddess has reached critical point. We've been delayed. We need to act," muttered the Black Star to her partner.

Ron made a grumbling sound as he replied, "Yeah, but… Look, I'm beat, we're sooner to die than stand a chance on getting whatever's in that thing to ascend. Why don't you try thinking for once, Rock? It would save you a whole lot of trouble."

The blue eyed girl refused to respond and merely continued her way. It took her thirteen minutes to reach her destination. The globe's foundation was imbedded deep into the checkered ground like a massive tree roots. Thick tendrils the size of buildings slithered through the ground and wrapped around with whatever they came in contact with. Specks of darkness rose from these tendrils and floated into the sky. The base of the globe didn't have anything interesting to show; however just by being near the thing somehow made the repulsing feeling Rock felt increase.

It was similar to that of unpurified souls.

"I got a bad feeling about this… We can still turn back you know," said the snake as he unwrapped himself from his partner's bicep and hovered in the air.

Rock grabbed him by his tail and turned him into a sword, "No."

With that one word, she calmly walked right into the base of the black globe.

* * *

The void. It was endless and dark. That's the location in which she existed. She was all alone, doomed to be tormented by her memories for all eternity. She didn't want to suffer anymore, she had enough. It was… all her fault. Her sin was the only thing that kept her from being put to rest. That woman… When the one who liberated her from her mortal coil came, she was so happy that her movements weren't as sharp as they were supposed to. She was defeated flawlessly without even landing a hit. The sword was broken and a hole was created on her stomach.

At that moment as she was dying, she felt happy, really happy. So happy that she would burst into tears. She thought that if she would've died back then, the torment would be over. She had never been so wrong. It didn't stop. The nightmare continued even long after she was dead. The dreams became reality and she was forced to witness her mistakes over and over again for all eternity. Her punishment, was to be sent into her own personal hell.

A tear ran down Nepgear's cheek as she floated within the void. She felt it, someone had entered her realm. She needs to see her, whoever it was… She may be her last chance…

…..

….

…

Rock opened her eyes to find herself sitting on the floor, her back leaning on what seemed to be an obliterated wall. She looked from left to right and found out that there was nobody in sight. Strange cube like objects floated in the air while the sky glowed with tattoo like designs every two seconds. A cold breeze came from an unknown source, ruffling the girl's clothes as she stood up.

She was within the Soul's Illusion, it would be wise to hurry and get the job done while she still had strength. Walking through the deserted streets, it felt odd for some reason to see the place so empty. She had been here before, walked these very streets in the past yet didn't get the chance to explore much. It felt strange to see it so desolate and devastated, it was as if somebody turned the entire city into a battlefield and left it to rot.

Kicking off the ground without warning, she used her inhuman strength and agility to jump her way to a building's roof. Planeptune, that was the name of this ruined city. However she noticed a few details from her current location. To her east was nothing more than a black wall separating the Illusionary world with the Threshold while her west featured another familiar landscape that went by the name of Leanbox. How and why these large chunks of land are within this illusion was beyond her.

Looking up, all she knew that her destination was somewhere in the sky.

In the place of the sun was a floating continent with little islands surrounding it. She didn't feel the presence of a soul anywhere near the ground so that could only mean that the target was waiting for her somewhere up there. She also noted that there were broken pieces of land and buildings flying around, defying gravity as they flew by. Those would make perfect platforms for her to jump her way through the air.

"Ron?" the silence finally taking her attention, it was only then she realized that her partner was nowhere to be seen.

She looked from her left to right and couldn't find a trace of the shape shifting snake. This would pose a problem since she wouldn't be able to go all out without him. Torn on whether she would go look for him or advance without him, Rock stood at the top of the building pondering. This was not a good sign.

With a blank expression, she stretched her arms and yawned, "I'll go on ahead then…"

She suddenly leapt into the air without warning, grabbing hold on a passing platform and pulling herself up. Once on top of it, she kicked off the ground towards another platform, repeating the process as she went up higher and higher from the ground. She only stopped to catch her breath before looking back at the city below here.

"Amazing," she whispered to herself as she took in the scenery. Despite its ruined state, Planeptune still gave off the same breathtaking appearance just like the time it was fully repaired. Seeing it destroyed however made the Black Star feel a twinge of sorrow within her.

Moving once again, she continued travelling upwards until she reached the floating continent. Wind hitting her face, the swaying of her hair only ceased when she stepped foot on the final platform. Just ahead of her was a pathway which emitted neon purple light, purple gems the size of boulders levitating with no visible support beneath them and hills of junk and scrap.

Rock looked behind her and called out, "Ron where are you?"

After failing to receive a response, she turned her attention back to the path before her and calmly walked on. There were no signs of life as far as her eyes can see. All that was there was junk and more junk lying about. She recognized a television set and a car buried within the scrap metal and trash. Once or twice she caught a glimpse of a gravestone in the pile yet she didn't stop by to check. The soul must've been hiding somewhere in this floating island, the Black Star could feel the surge of power lurking among the trash heap.

Somehow she felt a heavy atmosphere hanging in the air. Of course this may be passed off as the aftereffects of the soul's illusionary world, depicting and manifesting their regret and sorrow into a physical existence should it be strong enough. It was strange though since Goddesses usually held ridiculous amounts of power within them and yet not once did Rock encounter a scenario in which she had to battle a manifestation of the soul's lingering desire.

She had met unpurified souls that could summon monsters to aid them in fighting off a battalion of Black Stars yet no matter how powerful these Goddesses she encountered were there was never a sign of any monsters that would help them. Puzzling yet convenient at the same time. The girl wasn't in the mood to involve herself in random scuffles with small fries.

It seemed like all the current Goddess could do for now was to affect the surrounding area with gloom. Not that it weighed Rock down one bit. She merely shrugged it off and resumed her search. Walking around for a while, she found nothing useful that would point the way to her target. The gloom around her obscured her senses, making it difficult to pinpoint her opponent's location properly.

However it didn't look like she needed to look far.

The ground shook beneath her, sending her off balance and almost causing her to fall. Once she regained her footing, she immediately turned around with her eyes narrowed. The air hummed with energy as the Soul made its presence known. A powerful gust surrounded it as it took the form of a girl, putting one foot ahead of the other. Rock could barely see through the blinding light, forcing her to use her arms to block out most of it as she struggled to see.

The sound of something flying through the air went past all the noise the gust was making, warning the Black Star long enough to dodge. The space in which she stood on moments ago was nothing more than a large smoking crater once the dust had cleared. Rock instinctively reached for Ron yet recalled that she lost him the moment she set foot upon this illusion. She was going to have to hold out on her own without any weapon to aid her, her day was just becoming more interesting by the minute.

"You… Who are you…?"

The Black Star straightened herself as she dusted off the dirt on her clothes. She had her attention fixed on the source of the voice. After a few heartbeats, the blinding light slowly died and revealed the appearance of a girl with long lilac hair. She wore a white body suit wrapped tightly all over her person as pieces of armored plates floated near her waist, forming what seemed similar to a skirt. There were two strange wings at her back, giving off a dull pink glow. Her blue eyes had lost their shine as she stared at the Black Star before her.

Raising her hand, Nepgear pointed her finger at the girl before her and said, "Did you come to punish me too?"

* * *

"Ugh, god dammit, where the hell is this place? The atmosphere's totally different from before."

Ron slithered through the air as he tried to discover his current location. Everything as far as he can see was nothing more than pure whiteness. It was empty save for himself and the sparkling sky above him. There was no limit to the height he can fly yet he had no intention of experimenting it in this place in fear of his ability disappearing without warning. It sure was pain having to glide through the nothingness without any clear objective or destination.

There was also the problem with his missing partner whom he called out to for more than an hour. He was frustrated, confused, and hungry, once he sees anything close to a sentient life form he would have to give them a good slap on the face with his tail to vent out his feelings. It didn't make sense though. One moment he was wrapped around his partner's bicep and the next thing he knew was that he was sent into this strange place. He couldn't feel a trace of the Threshold's energy and that he found it impossible to spot an exit no matter where he looked.

He arrived at several conclusions as he explored the empty world, one being that someone or something messed up the transfer between the Threshold's world and that of the Stagnant Soul's world. That would be impossible to begin with unless they had the power and permission of the higher ups in the Organization. If it resulted to that, then it would mean that he would be stuck in limbo between the two worlds unless Rock punched through the illusion with brute force.

How long that would take would all up to Rock and that was if she could survive what was coming to her. But then again Ron had nothing to worry. Whether that girl had him as a sword or fought with her bare hands, he knew that she would be able to hold out on her own.

"The exit's this way you know?"

"Meh, everyone knows voices in somebody's head says the oppos—GRAGH!"

The snake flailed as a voice suddenly rang behind him. If he had a normal human body, then his knees would've gave out from the shock. Gritting his teeth, he the zeroed on the person who just popped out of nowhere and slapped her with his tail. For a living weapon he sure does keep his word.

"Ouch! What are you doing!" cried the girl as she lost her balance and fell on the floor, "Oww… Okay that hurt…"

Still flabbergasted at the person's appearance, Ron couldn't help but stutter as he said, "Y-Y-You! The hell are you doing here?! Where'd you come from and how'd you get here?! This doesn't make any sense!"

"When did the world ever make any sense? I did tell you that 'I'll be back and that I'll help you', didn't I?" replied Uni as she rubbed her rear. She stood up and dusted her dress before placing her hands on her hips and giving the snake before her a smug grin, "Nice to see you again."

_**SMACK**_

"At least come back after three chapters!" yelled Ron as he berated the CPU Candidate.

The CPU Candidate didn't take it kindly being hit so she did the next logical thing any person would do: she grabbed the snake's tail and started slamming him around. Filled with righteous rage and fury, she couldn't help but scream, "That hurt you worthless little scaled freak of a worm! I'm going to beat you good!"

"Like hell—GRAGH! OUCH, OUCH, STOP IT YOU CRAZY WOMAN!" shouted the snake as he greeted the ground with his face multiple times.

"If you want me to stop then say you're sorry!" replied Uni while swinging the shape shifting weapon and tossing him into the air. Fortunately, Ron managed regained his balance in mid-air albeit a bit dazed from all the spinning. He felt like his insides turned to mush during his rather interesting experience. If he were a normal snake then he would've been long dead considering the Goddess' strength. Still, he couldn't rid himself of his surprise though.

Vigorously shaking his head, Ron made sure he wasn't hallucinating before asking away, "Alright, how'd you get here? Didn't you ascend last time so what gives?"

"I was supposed to explain that right before you slapped me in the face," spat the Candidate as she rubbed her cheek. A sigh then escaped her lips as she crossed her arms to say, "Well, I suppose that my little stunt worked. Can't say it was really that successful though."

"Whoa, you were the one who sent me here?" questioned the snake in a surprised tone. He then fell silent as he thought about it for a moment. Raising his head once more, he quickly added "Why though? Or was it meant for someone else?"

The girl snapped her fingers as a smile decorated her face, "Right on! I was trying to reach your partner so that we could help her in taking down Gear. You have my respect since you can turn yourself into a mean cannon but against the power Nepgear gathered back in our old world and that of what she harnessed here, you and your partner wouldn't last a minute if she were to take you seriously."

"Wait a minute… 'we'? There's no one here," pointed out the snake as he glanced around, "I couldn't get a reading on anything else except you. Unless…"

Uni placed her hands on her hips and turned around; looking back at the snake as she said, "Follow me then."

Gritting his teeth, Ron had no choice but to reluctantly follow. Gliding beside the Goddess Candidate, he made sure he was close enough for her to hear him loud and clear as he spoke, "Look, I don't have the time and patience for these kind of things, alright? My partner's somewhere out there fighting with tooth and nail against a super powered corrupted soul while I'm stuck in this space time limbo you made up. I'd very much appreciate it if you kept this as brief as possible so I can get back kicking your fallen friend's little ass and going home."

"Sad though that the only way to do that is by meeting the others," giggled the girl as she tapped the snake's head.

The last bit in particular puzzled the shape shifting weapon, "You keep mentioning 'we' and 'others'. I have a vague idea on who they are but in there isn't anything akin to an exit or entrance in this void."

"How did you think I got here?" asked Uni in a cryptic manner as she retained that smile of hers.

"I said I didn't have time for mind games, didn't I? Sheesh, you were way better when you were a Stagnant Soul. At least back then you were more straightforward with your feelings," commented Ron as he slithered through the air. The girl at his side did not respond to his mumbling and merely walked on. Seeing as it was useless to pry any more information from the Candidate, the snake settled for keeping his mouth shut and following her.

They walked for what seemed like a remarkable stretch of time. It was during then did the world around Ron gradually changed. It started out as small such as dirt on the ground and a cold draft from out of nowhere. He kept his eyes fixed forward as Uni had been doing, that's when he began to notice the smooth surface of the floor be filled with blue tiles and eventually a smooth silver surface. Circuit like patterns snaked through the ground, crisscrossing each other as they ended in points.

The sky above became a darker shade of blue as more line patterns were appeared on them. There were too many things to describe because when Ron turned his attention back on the ground, it felt like he was in a completely different place. He was on a circular platform floating above an endless sea of clouds with the rising sun visible in the horizon. It was then he realized that he was levitating near the edge and immediately back tracked in fear of falling.

"Crap… Just where the hell is this place? We're still in the Threshold, right?" asked the snake as he struggled to comprehend what in the world just happened. The transportation was slow yet quick at the same time. It was like his perception of time was fooled when he wasn't paying attention.

When he laid his eyes on the Goddess Candidate, he found her wearing in a different set of clothing yet had her hair remain the same pure whit ringlets. She wore a black bathing suit like body suit as she held the large black cannon rifle she used when battling Rock over her shoulder. Her footsteps echoed around the platform as she stood beside the snake as she gazed into the endless sea of clouds, "Celestia… The domain of the True Goddess right before she disappeared. It's a place where the four main CPUs couldn't reach back in our world. It's only a stuff of myth and legends even to us. You of all things should know that Goddesses go somewhere when we ascend."

"So this is…. Heaven?" muttered Ron as he turned his gaze around him, "It's not really what I expected."

"I don't think this is the true Heaven though. Your world's definition of Heaven and mine's completely different. What I do know is this my world's Heaven," explained Uni with a heavy sigh. She turned around and placed her free hand on her hips as she complained, "Geez, what's taking them so long….?"

"This is incredible…" mumbled the snake in disbelief, "In all my years as a living weapon I've never seen an epic view like this before."

"And it gets better."

Ron turned around and looked above. The scene before him was similar to a painting. Six girls descended from the blue sky in all their glory. Their body's radiating power that could very well rip reality apart and may contest the various leaders of the Organization. Colorful auras enveloped their bodies according to their respective nations. Green, white, black and purple radiated from them as a display of power.

High above them, the sky rumbled as a great gust blew by the platform. The Goddesses landed on the ground and turned their attention on the floating snake.

"Flashy yet classy. Long time no see, ladies," greeted Ron with a smirk on his lips. This was just getting more and more interesting; he slowly wondered what would happened next. It seemed like everyone Rock met in the past had gathered sans one Goddess.

The Goddess in white accompanied by her twin sisters observed the snake from his left, her face indifferent as she studied the shape shifting weapon with cold eyes. Another Goddess with green hair stared at him with an amused look on her face, probably remembering some past series of unfortunate events through her mind. The next Goddess was an unfamiliar one yet closely resembled Uni in terms of hair and eye color, as well as clothing. She had a regal air about her as she gave him a curious look.

The Goddess who spoke earlier took a step forward and gave the snake a smile as she approached. Her long purple hair tied in a series of braids which reached beneath her knees swayed along with the wind.

In a clear voice which resounded all over the platform, Purple Heart extended her greeting, "It's nice to see you too, Ron."

* * *

A loud crash roared all over the junkyard as an object collided with the metal pile. A girl no older than sixteen choked as an ominous pink hand of light held her by the neck. Gritting her teeth, the blue flame on her left eye intensified as she grabbed the light hand's wrist and tore it apart. Looking up, she dashed forward to avoid being crushed by a giant sword, only to be sent stumbling from the shockwave of the weapon. She felt something hot graze her left cheek followed by the sound of an explosion erupting somewhere far ahead of her.

Regaining her balance, she clenched her fists as she analyzed her current situation. The enemy was a Goddess, a being that reigns supreme and exploits the advantages of her illusionary world to the fullest. Compared to the weaponless Black Star, she was armed with a deadly white gun blade which fired bullets wrought out of light, bearing enough power to pierce through the ground and cause earth shaking explosions. That's not even adding the Divine Being's speed and strength which were three times of Rock's.

The amount of power the Goddess radiated sent shivers down the Black Star's spine and her knees to quake. Despite the fact that her body knew that she was fighting a hopeless fight, her face betrayed no emotion as she got ready to evade the next attack. She felt a prickling sensation at the back of her neck as she noticed the sound of the wind whistling. She wasted no time ducking low as a blade passed overhead. Rock retaliated by swing her arm back, only to hit an empty space.

Seeing that her opponent was nowhere to be found, she decided to put some distance between herself and her current location. She let her entire being spread around her so that she would take in every little detail she could gather. The past course of action right now would be to keep moving, stopping at one place would be dangerous for the enemy would surely be waiting for her. Hit and run tactics would prove the wisest choice should she engage in combat.

Wrenching her mind back to reality, she kicked off the ground to jumped over and incoming blade, sliding on the floor as she landed. Nepgear stood with her back facing the Black Star leaving her wide open. The blue eyed girl quickly ceased the chance and raised her fist.

Her attack was cut off by the speed of the Goddess' weapon flying to meet her, forcing the Black Star to lose her rhythm. She came to a halt just a bit from the sword's reach, her heart was beating faster than ever compared to any of her past fights. She dodged a vertical slash and side stepped a diagonal one before blocking Nepgear's sword arm with her own. Her eye flame roaring with life, she sent a ferocious knee into the Candidate's stomach, causing the lilac haired girl to double over. Rock didn't allow her to recover as she subjected the Divine Being into a throw, sword, wings and all.

She quickly retreated to a safe distance away from the fallen Goddess. Her knee buckled as an intense pain flared through her bones. That body suit wasn't just for show after all. It was harder than metal. How it was made into something flexible enough to become clothes was beyond her.

It gave her an idea that her enemy's had the higher defense at the moment.

"Weak…" whispered Nepgear, "You're weak…"

Rock gazed at the rising Goddess with indifferent eyes as she recovered. The lilac haired girl stood up without showing any signs of damage. It looked like she needed to be hit somewhere she wasn't wrapped in that body suit. There plenty of places to hit her yet the Black Star didn't see interested in inflicting herself of more injuries.

Her eyes turning to the floor, the blue eyed girl crouched down for a moment to pick up an old metal pipe. She examined it in her hand and swung it around a bit to test its weight. Seeing that Ron wasn't around, she'll have to improvise in order to survive. She just hoped that she'll be in one piece until that snake comes. She raised her palm towards Nepgear and moved her fingers back and forth twice as if saying '_come and get me_'.

The Goddess was polite enough to reply by appearing in front of Rock without even two seconds ticking by. She swung her blade as fast as she could yet she still failed to land a single hit on her foe. There wasn't enough time for her to recover as the blue eyed girl entered her guard and swung the metal pipe with all her might.

_**CLANG**_

The pipe broke yet the impact it made on the Goddess' belly was enough to push her backwards. Rock passed by the Candidate and dashed away before the other girl could even regain her footing. Facing her foe once more, Nepgear prepared to fire her gun blade yet was distracted by the remnants of a metal pipe flying towards her, forcing her to block in the process. When she lowered her blade, the first thing she saw was the Black Star dashing towards her. The second and third were two old crowbars within her hands.

Rock viciously slashed with her first crowbar which promptly broke as Nepgear blocked with her sword. The act however left the Candidate's head vulnerable for a thrust into the head, giving the Black Star a tiny ray of hope of landing a hit.

Her chance however was immediately taken from her. A purple flash passed through the air followed by the blue eyed girl's right forearm exploding in white hot pain. Her makeshift weapon dissolved in into nothingness within her own hand as it was engulfed in purple flames. It hurt. It hurt so much that she couldn't think straight. It was unbearable. It was so painful that her vision turned red and blurred as her mind was enveloped in a haze.

Nepgear saw it fit to deliver a devastating kick into the Black Star's gut while she was stunned, sending the girl flying through the air. She watched as the blue eyed girl tumbled into the distance before crashing into a trash heap.

"Did it hurt..?" she asked as she approached the fallen girl, "Did you feel the same pain as they others did? How did it feel? Tell me… I want to know… What they went through…"

Breathing hard as sweat gathered on her forehead, Rock struggled to get back on her feet as she gazed at her approaching enemy. The flames on her right hand had disappeared yet the burning sensation was still there. She kept her eyes fixed on her enemy. The corruption… It was nearly complete. The effects were already beginning to show.

A black and purple ooze rose up from the Goddess' shadow and slowly began to wrap itself around her body. It had a metallic surface which shined in the purple light radiated by nearby crystals as it glowed an ominous shade of violet. It felt evil, repulsive and… sad. It was just like that time in Leanbox where the Oracle succumbed to her own desires and nearly beat Rock in battle. The blue eyed girl noted that the soul back then was a human's, perfectly normal and within her capabilities to subdue. The thing before her however was another matter.

She could feel the negative emotions surrounding the Divine Being. She was already an unpurified soul, one that would take time to cleanse through normal methods. A Goddess being converted into an unpurified soul, such a scenario nearly happened quite a number of times in the past. Yet here was one right then and there. Rock could only watch as the transformation took place.

The liquid corruption had successfully enveloped Nepgear's body save for her head. She had her eyes closed the entire time as black veins snaked up her cheek from her neck. When she opened her eyes they were bright red, indifferent, malicious, and maybe a little bit melancholic. Power began to hum in the air as the wind picked up.

The ooze receded and revealed what looked like another version of her clothing from before. The same bathing suit like clothing wrapped itself around her body yet it was low cut and had the dark shade of purple and black as it parted between her breasts down to her belly. Silver knee socks covered her legs as she wore a pair of bladed heeled boots. A D-pad shoulder guard was placed on her left shoulder as she wore a mechanical glove on her left hand while her other arm was wrapped in a long glove which reached her elbow. A skirt like fabric was wrapped around her waist.

Her hair swayed to the right as it gradually changed from lilac to gray while her wings had gone transformation too. Instead of broken disc like appearance, they were now jagged and resembled that of a dead tree's branches. She held her gun blade on her right hand while she held another sword on her left. This one was deep purple and had the same length as Ron's blade form.

This was the sword that cut her earlier. A blade filled with evil and malice, it made Rock sick just by looking at it.

Holding her injured hand, the Black Star gritted her teeth as she analyzed her odds. She won't be able to survive in the next attack that's for sure. Just by looking at her, the Goddess had ascended into a higher state of existence. Defeating an enemy of this caliber without being properly armed would be next to impossible.

Her heart skipped a beat as she saw Nepgear raise the gun blade.

It was over.

"Die…"

_**BANG**_

_**BOOM**_

An explosion rang throughout the illusionary world, sending a ring of force to spread all around. Rock shielded her face with her arms to keep the dust and dirt from hitting her eyes. She didn't know why, but something big and black just fell from the sky and protected her. She noticed a trail on the ground which looked as if something heavy rolled by. Tracing it with her eyes, she noticed a familiar black surface buried within the heaps of metal and trash. It was Skull-chan, one of the twin skull sentinels Dead kept with her.

Turning her attention back to her opponent, she found a three pronged sword imbedded on the ground a few feet away from her. Rock didn't know what to thin at that moment. All she could do was breathe a sigh of relief as she approached the weapon. Yanking out of the ground, she could imagine her colleague giggling just outside the illusion.

When she held the sword in her grasp, she felt a warm feeling wrap around her and enter her.

_A parting gift. Skull-chan will bring me back my sword once the fiasco's over. The rest is up to you._

Dead's voice faded away as the feeling disappeared. It seemed like her luck was beginning to brighten up. She gripped the weapon with both of her hands and faced her enemy. Holding a Black Star's weapon was completely different from using anything else. Despite it not being her own weapon, the sword in her hands felt like an extension of her body, one that she would use as a tool to subdue her foe.

Rock sucked in a lungful of air before exhaling; she opened her eyes as she activated her eye flame once more.

* * *

Celestia, a place of myth and legends even to the Goddess themselves, that was the place the snake found himself in. He had no idea why or how he got there, all he knew that in the place of his partner, he was going have an audience with the Goddesses. The seven of them stood before him as he finished explaining the situation. Even if he did have a sharp tongue, there was no way he could shoot his mouth off in front of these girls. The last thing he wanted was to be turned into goop.

It was amazing though. The amount of power in the air sent shivers down his spine. Even the higher ups never had this much power to make him quake down to his tail. He didn't show it though; he merely floated on where he was as these beings thought about what he had just reported.

"So… Rock's fighting Nepgear now?" said Vert as she crossed her arms, "This is bad. And without you to assist her, she'll probably have a hard time. It was never our intention to put her in danger like this, however it's been quite a while since we last used our powers. We apologize for the inconvenience."

"Instead of being sorry about it, we need to come to a decision. That girl won't be able to last long on her own even if a miracle does happen," said Uni in a worried tone. She turned to the snake and promptly asked him, "Tell us, how much time do we have left until Nepgear's corruption is complete?"

Scratching his head with his tail, Ron replied, "Not long now. You were on the verge of succumbing to your corruption yourself so I can imagine this Nepgear you're all talking about going under the process as we speak. You girls do know what happens to a Goddess when the corruption reaches its limit, right?"

"Chaos…" muttered Blanc, a frown appearing upon her visage as she recalled that one time, "Even if it was a close call for me, transforming hurt like hell. Having that bastard power flow through me made me sick yet happy at the same time. I bet Gear's all drunk in power and won't be able to think straight unless we beat her up."

"But that's impossible…"

The long white haired Goddess lifted her head to look at Planeptune's CPU, "Neptune?"

"As we are now, we won't be able to do anything but watch," elaborated Neptune with a sad look on her face as she gazed up the sky, "Our powers aren't enough. Doesn't it remind you of old times?"

All fell silent at the purple Goddess' words. Somehow Ron felt left out in all the happening yet he had an idea on what's going through their minds. Their faces showed that history was repeating itself and there was nothing they could do about it. Those helpless faces….

He hated it.

"Oi… What the hell are you bitches saying?" he growled in a low tone. Raising his head, he then began yelling at the Divine Beings, "You… IDIOTS! What's the point of taking me here in the first place if you got nothing helpful to give out?! My partner's out there getting her ass kicked because you idiots dragged me out here for nothing! Screw you, I'm leaving!"

"We want to help actually," said Purple Heart in an indifferent tone. She approached the snake and grabbed him by the tail just as he was about to float away, "It's just that we couldn't do it on our own."

"Gragh! What the hell?! Let me go, dammit! I got no time for this shit!" yelped Ron as he struggled to get himself free.

"This is where you come in," added White Heart as she paced back and forth, "We've come to a conclusion that once our physical bodies die, there was no way for us to come in contact with the mortal world or the afterlife. We've reached a higher state of existence which renders us invalid of doing just about anything."

"It's really boring! I wanna play some games and eat cake!" piped up Ram while raising her staff.

Waving her sister down, Blanc rubbed her forehead as she continued, "Yes, yes we get that, but point is that we cannot directly interfere directly on either worlds without relying on a medium for our power to sustain itself. Like Neptune said we can't do anything on our own. Originally, we wanted Rock's help on this but you'll do just fine too."

Ron found it baffling. His jaw hung open as he processed the information spoon fed to him. It was stupid, crazy and impossible. What kind of idiot would just lay down and let these people do what they want? A couple of heart beats passed and a chuckle could be heard echoing around the platform. Even the Goddesses took a step back at the snake's laughter, taken aback by his sudden change.

Now this… was interesting.

"Oh how the mighty have fallen…" he sighed as he winded down. Lifting his head up, he then said in a much more confident manner, "Asking a mere weapon like me such a big responsibility… You people must be out of your minds. I don't know if the laws of the afterlife apply to you Goddesses as well but I hope that your next lives would be complete hell…. Because investing your powers into something like me could make things go wrong on a number of levels."

"Then… you'll agree with us?" asked Vert, half expectant and half hesitant.

Ron scratched his head with his tail once more as he asked, "One more thing though that I really got to ask… Why are you all so obsessed with helping out your own killer? With the kind of powers you girls have, you'll be able to imbue me up to god tier levels which I can easily use to subdue that girl. The Threshold will take care of her and you'll never have to bother with her again. So… why? What's the point of it all?"

"It's hard to explain," replied Neptune as she rubbed her arm, "We don't know why we should even try despite all that's happened. Maybe we just don't care. Even in the face of all of the things she's done, she will always be our one and only, lovable… Nepgear… No matter what happens…"

"Yeah and we still have a score to settle with her," growled Blanc as she hit her fist into her palm, "We can't just let her get away from us hands free, right? We gotta give her a little pay back for killing us."

"We just don't want her to be alone. That girl could be surprisingly stupid if no one looks after her. It must run in the family," joked Uni with a giggle, earning her Neptune's crossed glare.

With a heavy sigh, Purple Heart massaged her forehead and turned her gaze to the snake, "How about that, Ron? Anymore stupid questions?"

"Heh, you people are insane. Fine, I'll help you out… My partner's about to run out of batteries anyway," laughed Ron.

* * *

Rock was pushed backwards under the crushing force of her opponent's sword swing. Every time she blocked, she would always lose her ground as she weathered the hits. It didn't seem like her attacks were fazing her enemy despite all of her efforts. She planted her foot on the ground and pushed forward, hacking and slicing with her three pronged sword.

Sparks flew in the air as her weapon made contact with Nepgear's gun blade, pushing her foe's sword to the side to avoid getting shot by the laser it fired. The Black Star ducked low and swept the air with her sword but was parried by Gehaburn as it stabbed itself into the ground. She backtracked to avoid being beheaded by the other blade while parrying Gehaburn's attacks. She had to turn the tables around and go for the offensive. There was no way she could defend herself forever and she would soon lose the strength to do just that.

Amidst the confusion of the swinging swords, Rock barely had the time to react to avoid getting kicked in the gut. However as she dodged, she had no way of telling the incoming strike the fallen Goddess delivered as she slammed the pommel of her sword right on the back of the Black Star's head. The force of the impact sent the girl tumbling forward with enough power to shoot through the debris further into the heart of the floating continent.

Brandishing Gehaburn in the air, the fallen Goddess kicked off the ground as her dark wings spread on either side of her. She was nothing more than a dark purple blur wrapped in a bright pink glow as she shot through the air. A sonic boom could be seen trailing behind her as she searched for her enemy. Once she tracked her, she wasted no time aiming her gun blade at the blue eyed girl and pulling the trigger.

The pink laser beam was easily deflected by a battered Rock, holding her three pronged sword as she did her best to calm down her breathing. With her eye flame still alive and burning, she then growled through her gritted teeth, "It hurts… doesn't it? The pain you've burdened yourself with…"

"It's all my fault… It's all my fault isn't it? They hate me… Everyone hates me…" sobbed Nepgear as she leveled Gehaburn.

"I know… Everyone hated you… Because of what you did… The people you made suffer… All of them…" taking a step forward, Rock kept her eyes on the corrupted CPU as her wounds began to heal, "However… At the same time… It's what you think… Come back… They're waiting…"

Letting go of her gun blade, the fallen Goddess hugged her head as purple tears ran down her cheeks, "I don't get it! I don't understand! We had no choice! There wasn't anything we could do! IF, Compa, Neptune… Everyone… I… I… I didn't even manage to destroy Arfoire properly! She could be back! And it's all my fault! Everyone's sacrifice was all for nothing! They're mad! I know it, they sent me here because of that, right? Because I failed… Because I'm weak… In the end, I could never do anything right…."

"They want you saved… That's why they sent out someone who can do the job. That's why I'm here…" the Black Star lowered her sword and extended her hand, "The pain they left on you, they never wanted to give you that. They wanted to shoulder that burden with you, they wanted to support you until the very end and fight alongside you in your greatest need. What they did… Even if it was in the name of your world's safety… it was selfish, stupid, pitiful, pure, heroic… But it was most certainly not for tormenting you or for revenge… You may think that they hate you and blame you for everything however every… single… one… of them..."

Rock gripped her sword as she fixed her eyes on Nepgear, "Had their own Innocent Regret…"

"I'm not listening!" the fallen Goddess roared as she expelled a burst of energy around her and dived towards the blue eyed girl.

A clang rang out throughout the illusionary world as Gehaburn collided with the three pronged sword. Rock pushed the two weapons upwards before executing her counter attack, yet Nepgear was more than willing to exchange blows which sent sparks into the air. The Black Star backed her attacks with her increased speed while her eye flame burst with new life. She took advantage of the Goddess' confused state to push her back. After a couple more strikes, she managed to nick the lilac haired girl's cheek, causing the girl in question to answer by shoving her opponent's blade away and kicking her in the gut.

Even after receiving damage, Rock couldn't allow herself to falter as Gehaburn came back with a vengeance along with more power. Gritting her teeth, she planted her foot on the ground and weathered two colossal strikes and forced Nepgear into her own rhythm. She trapped Gehaburn within the gaps of her own weapon, forcing the fallen Goddess' arms to the side before punching her in square in the face.

The Black Star's eyes widened as she caught sight of the corrupted CPU's smile as she slid back.

Glaring at the blue eyed girl with her own crimson eyes, the lilac haired girl's lips formed a sad smile as she said, "That's it… Punish me… Hurt me… This isn't enough! I need to suffer some more! I need to understand their pain! I want… to understand… the pain that they went through!"

Ferociously swinging her sword horizontally, Rock endured the stinging pain in her arm as her attack was blocked easily. While her sword was locked with Gehaburn, she replied, "All of that pain and suffering… give it to me… I'll take it all… Because… that's my job!"

"Liar!" Nepgear released the last shackle which sealed off Gehaburn's true potential with a burst of purple light. The amount of energy expelled from the blade was enough to blow the blue eyed girl away and level the ground. Debris and junk alike levitated in the air as if gravity had been erased completely while the air hummed with energy.

"It's okay…"

Nepgear's eyes widened for a moment as she stared at the prone form of her enemy. That sad look in her eyes and the sorrowful tone in her voice, it felt… nostalgic.

"You don't have to cry… anymore… I'll… help… you…"

Shaking her head, the fallen Goddess could only tighten her grip on her sword as she asked in a whisper, "Who… Are you?"

"It doesn't matter," replied the Black Star as she shook her head, "You're tired aren't you..? Of the fighting… of the torture? You don't have to fight anymore… What's the point? Your battle's over… You can rest now."

Yelling out to the heavens, the corrupted CPU charged towards her foe and raised her blade. Rock made an attempt to block yet it seemed like Dead's sword had reached its limits and slowly but surely broke into a million pieces as it exploded. Stepping in the Goddess' guard, she redirected the Divine Being's arm and kneed her gut. She planned on following up the attack with a punch yet the sound of metal coming contact with flesh reached her ears.

Rock felt pain explode within her stomach as she looked down. Her eyes went wide as she saw how Gehaburn had stabbed itself into her belly, a dark stain of red spreading on her clothes.

She got hit…

The pain mixing with the dizziness she experienced by being near the ominous sword was proving a bit too much for her willpower to endure. Looking up, she could see her enemy's tearful expression, probably reliving a dark memory hidden in the corner of her shattered mind. It was annoying… more annoying than Ron's yapping… She didn't want to see that… Is that… what it's like? To see someone cry?

The Black Star didn't understand. She could only feel her body getting lighter as her vision turned to black. She felt how she fell into the ground after the sword was yanked out of her. Cold… Yet warm at the same time… Was it even possible to die again? If she were to die now then she would turn into a Stagnant Soul… Mindless, purely driven by her broken ego to wander the Threshold until she was exterminated.

_Not yet…_

_Not yet…_

She could hear the faint sounds of the fallen Goddess' distant screams. Too far… Too far…

"So… tired…"

"Oi wake up! Stop lying on the ground, you flat chested mule! We got ourselves a really big catch here and you're just going to let it get away!?"

"Ron..?"

"I said_, wake up_, dammit!"

_**SMACK**_

Rock's eyes flew open as the world around her came into focus. Her cheek stung with pain shortly after her partner slapped her with his tail. Everything hurt, her limbs felt like lead and she could barely lift her head. Even just blinking was struggle yet she sent an annoyed glare at her companion as he merely floated above her while chuckling to himself.

"Damn, girl. You look like you want to tear me apart. If you got enough strength to be angry, then get up. I'm not going to clean up those bastards' mess all by myself," said Ron before bursting into a fit of laughter. The Black Star sent him a confused look while he wiped his head with his tail, "hehehehe, you should see yourself right now. You look goddamned pathetic."

Beads of yellow light began to circle her and envelop her entire body with a warm sensation. It felt like her body was slowly regaining its strength to move, giving her the chance to push herself off the ground and sit. Placing a trembling hand on her head, she could only watch as the lights around her glowed brighter and brighter by the second as it restored her back to normal. The pain from when she was stabbed by the cursed sword was gone and the resulting wound had somehow disappeared.

The lights then gathered around as they swirled, forming a huge golden flame which engulfed the Black Star. Rock found it strange on how she wasn't hurt and instead of feeling painful heat, she felt as if she was in complete bliss. The giant flame around her only lasted a minute before disappearing into scattered sparks.

That was when she found out what happened to her enemy.

"She was about to finish you off when she was suddenly attacked by some kind of spasm," said Ron, his tone filled with disgust and repulsion, "Kinda freaky on how she screamed and screamed while mechanical cords dragged her down into the ground."

"Ground?" asked the Black Star while keeping her eyes fixed forward.

"Don't ask. Even I'm getting shivers just by remembering it. Oh and if you're wondering, that girl's still around so it would be best to keep your guard up," replied the snake before turning his head upwards. He uttered an impressed whistle as he added, "Well now… Looks like back up got here earlier than I thought. Dead's really pissed, ain't she?"

"What do you mean?" questioned Rock as she stepped towards her partner with her usual expressionless face.

"Can't you tell? She's trying to make the illusion dissipate. Doing so will expose the Stagnant Soul to the Threshold which will definitely weaken it somehow since it just lost its home ground," explained her partner as brief as he could, "Sad thing is that the Goddess can inflict heavy damage on the world if not stopped. Even if she's weakened, she can still pack a punch, you know?"

_**BOOM**_

"Aw, here she comes…" whispered Ron as he and his companion watched as something big and bulky burst from the ground. The Black Star had to dive to the side to avoid a nasty boulder which threatened to crush her. It didn't just end there for couple more debris rained down from the dissolving heavens before everything mostly calmed down.

From the ground was a ridiculously large mechanical vehicle which stood on its two bent legs, swaying its large metal head around before raising it with a roar. The thing could only be describe as a military robot of unknown origin, its heavily armored body showed signs of weather and abused use yet it was still capable of operating despite its ancient age. Steam could be seen being exhausted from two vents at the back of its two legs every time it moved.

Inky black cords could be seen being dragged behind it as it took its first three steps right out of its junk ridden grave. The longer Ron stared at it, the more it looked like a tank with legs attached underneath it. He also noted the twin Gatling guns mounted just beneath its 'head', the anti-tank missile launcher on its knees and back, as well as the cannon it had attached to its left side. The thing which he considered the most dangerous on the mechanical behemoth was the ominous aura that surrounded it.

He knew that if Rock ever came in contact with a concentrated amount of that aura then it would be game over since it would instantly turn her into an unpurified soul. Since the mechanical vehicle looked like it was made a hundred years ago, he had a feeling that the ammunition it had won't be limited to missiles and bullets.

"That's… her…" Rock's voice was faint compared to the ruckus the metal behemoth was creating. On top of its head with her body merged from the waist down into the robot was no other than the fallen Goddess.

The merged mecha and Nepgear zeroed on the Black Star without even a second passing by. Rock didn't waste time grabbing Ron by his neck and running for her life. Judging from the machine gun fire behind her, the area in which she stood just got turned into fine powder. She dashed forward with her inhuman speed to escape her opponent's line of fire. Using the various metal heaps lying about as cover, she managed to get the chance of pinpointing her foe's blind spot as she ran around.

The giant robot turned its large head towards Rock as she dashed out of her hiding place, prompting it to gather the corrupted aura around itself and using it as energy for its cannon.

"Ron!" yelled the Black Star as her snake partner shined with dark blue flame, transforming himself into a modified version of the Rock Cannon. She came to a halt in a kneeling position as she aimed her weapon and pulled the trigger. Both combatting sides released their bullets which connected with each other in mid-air.

Rock watched as her own projectile broke through Nepgear's and instantly hit the mecha's side cannon, obliterating it. The blue eyed girl had to grit her teeth as she was pushed back by the recoil of her Cannon, staring dumbfounded at its barrel as it let out a faint smoke. Her Cannon was now riddled with circuit like lines along with silver linings along its side. Its front sight and rear sight were also modified to bear the appearance of a black and white star. She knew that Ron was her weapon, yet it was only now that she realized that he felt very much alive in her grasp. It was like an innate power resonated within him and was being transferred to her.

"So you've noticed, huh?" guessed the shape shifting weapon.

"What is this?" asked the blue eyed girl as she lifted her Cannon high to examine it.

"Long story short, I ascended to a high plane of existence because of a Goddess' blunder and got some sweet upgrade for a limited time," answered Ron in an almost hysterical manner, "It's only for a short while but we need to keep this girl distracted until the cavalry arrives. Or we can beat her as much as we freakin' want so long as she's in one piece! But seriously, I am so high right now, AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Their attention turned back to their foe as a swarm of purple missiles launched themselves into the air before homing towards the lone girl. Giving the huge robot a cold look, Rock calmly made quick work of the incoming projectiles by shooting them down. She narrowed her eyes as she realized one missile managed to escape her notice and continued flying towards her. Placing her left arm on her cannon, she was more than willing to blast the final missile into oblivion.

The sky lit up as the Charge Shot pierced the heavens. The Black Star brandished her weapon as it transformed, blue flames surrounding her as she walked forward.

"Vulcannon," she whispered as she continued walking.

As if understanding her opponent's intentions, Nepgear manipulated her mechanical body's Gatling guns before letting loose a stream of endless bullets. Rock's eye flame blazed with life as she pulled the trigger and braved the bullet storm. She kept on walking as the many projectiles hit many parts of her body. It was amazing on how much power Ron's transformation had; she could see how her own bullets collided with her enemy's therefore getting rid most of the ammunition flying towards her.

The wounds she received did not hurt and her steps never faltered even when under enemy. Ever since she had been reunited with Ron, she never felt tired or needed to rest for a moment. Her body… felt really light. Her eyes widened as her bullets managed to pierce her enemy's Gatling guns and immediately disable them. She thought that she was about to catch her breath for a moment when Nepgear suddenly turned her enormous body around in one fluid movement.

Rock realized too late what was about to happen and was caught by a wall of metal cords. Her body flew similar to a rag doll as she slid through the checkered floor. She pushed herself off the floor to avoid being impaled by the metal cords as her cannon transformed into a sword. Deflecting and hacking apart the incoming cords, the Black Star advanced forward as her eye flame intensified. Side stepping a passing cord, she severed it along with many others as she spun into a bladed wheel of death and destruction.

The remains of her enemy's cords all fell into the ground as she dashed forward. Nepgear fired off the missiles hidden in her robot's knees with all of them exploding at the same time as they reached the blue eyed girl. In her shattered mind, she thought that the battle was over, only to be proven wrong as she witnessed how withstood the attack by using a large round shield.

"My turn," whispered Rock as she urged Ron to transform into dual cannons which fit themselves into both of her arms, "Go!"

The heavy armored robot staggered a bit as the dual Charge Shots came in contact with its hide. Nepgear willed her mount to retaliate by sending out more attack cords. Her efforts were all in vain as Rock didn't leave one of them behind as she blasted them before they even reached her. Dodging a few stray bullets from a machine gun mounted beneath the metal behemoth, the Black Star dove into the ground before aiming her weapons at the thing's legs.

_**BOOM**_

The floating continent rumbled as the mecha fell on the ground, almost getting Rock off balance. In a last bid to survive, the fallen Goddess gathered every bit of her energy to form a dark purple cloud above her and her opponent, violet lightning flashing within it as thunder rolled.

Kicking off the ground, the Black Star dashed forward her opponent as her dual Cannons turned into swords. Just up ahead was a wave of metal cords with the intent to impale her. She steadied her breath once she realized that she was she was breathing heavily, she couldn't let her mind be distracted by trivial things. One wrong move and she was good as gone. Gripping her swords, she then allowed them to do the rest.

She cut anything that got in her way. She didn't care if she was hurt or injured, she had to reach her destination, it was the only thing she could do to vanquish this soul's agony. The Soul's pain, suffering, despair and grief, it was her job to erase them all. Just up ahead, she could see it, the girl's tears, the sad expression she wore as she was forced to fight amidst her confused mind. A girl left all alone to shoulder a heavy responsibility which has ultimately broken her.

The Black Star looked up the sky as she kicked off the ground to jump above the swarm of metal wires. Transforming one of her blades into a cannon, she used its recoil to avoid getting struck by a purple lightning bolt. Tumbling on the ground, she gave the burnt remains of the lifeless cords on the ground a brief glance before returning to dodging the incoming lightning bolts.

Seeing that this was Nepgear's doing, the blue eyed girl aimed her Cannon and retaliated. The fallen Goddess replied by sending out more wires to impale her foe, adding a series of homing missiles into the chaos.

"Rock, finish this in one shot!" yelled Ron as his partner did as he told. The Black Star righted her arm and gathered enough time for her weapon to be ready. She merely stared at the incoming mass of death before letting loose an incredible Charge Shot.

_**BANG**_

The oversized bullet which left Rock's cannon mowed down the missiles and wires as if they were nothing. It continued on its path of destruction until it was cancelled by Nepgear's grand lightning bolt. She was about to release a powerful attack of her own when she realized that someone was standing before her.

All fell into silence.

The clouds disappeared, the air ceased to hum, the earth stopped rumbling, and even the dissolving world around the two became quiet. Melancholic crimson eyes stared deep into the emotionless blue ones. The fallen Goddess lowered her trembling arms and began to sob. Her tears staining the cold metal surface of her mechanical body. The ominous aura which surrounded her mount began to lessen, making the surrounding air a bit more tolerable than before.

Rock only stood before as she had her blade just under Nepgear's chin. She had used her Charge Shot to move away anymore obstacles that got in her path while at the same time to use it as a distraction as she approached closely from behind. Even a simple tactic like that couldn't be comprehended by her opponent's broken mind so she used it to her advantage. She felt Ron's excess power leave her as its time went out. She was back to normal with nothing more than her original abilities as a Black star.

She had to end it here, she had to get eliminate this girl and make her ascend. If she were to get involve in anymore fights then her own body would break down from the strain. She could already feel the recoil from abusing her body's limits yet she held it all in. To save this girl… she had to do something…

But… how?

"Well..? Aren't you… going to free me?" asked the lilac haired girl, her eyes filled with tears as she hiccupped twice, "Please… I… don't want anymore… I want to see… Everyone… I want… to say that I'm sorry… please…"

"No…" whispered Rock as she moved away her sword, "You don't have to say sorry. There's nothing to be sorry for."

"Why..? Why not?" pressed on Nepgear, lowering her head to hide her face, "I killed them… I let Gamindustri fall… I hurt everyone… So why..?"

"Your regrets… They were innocent are they not? You never intended for any of the misfortune around you to happen," replied the Black Star as she knelt down, wiping the fallen Goddess' tears away, "It's not your fault. None of it was. So stop thinking that way."

"H-Huh?"

"I met them all, I've seen how they talk about you. They… were all quite happy…" said Rock.

"Yeah, but damn, they sure looked sad at the same time. It was like there was something missing from themselves," added Ron, "Those girls were bound by their personal feelings and desires when we encountered them. However, after speaking with them personally, those two facts were not the only cases. The reason why they still had a connection with this world and had made contact with me and my partner here was because they still had someone to pick up. That someone is you. You always thought you were alone, huh? Think again, girly, those friends of your never gave up on you. They watched over you despite what you thought. Even when you were at your lowest, they never left your side. Seeing you suffer and despairing, I understood that it hurt them just as much as it hurt you."

Letting out a sigh even when in his blade form, the shape shifting weapon couldn't help but continue, "I mean seriously, how selfish could you kids get? Look at yourself, throwing a damned tantrum over nothing! It's pathetic! No wonder everything in your world went to hell! You kept blaming yourself over and over and over even when the past has already gone! Don't you get the phrase 'move onwards'? Your buddies wanted you to live your life to the fullest and sacrificed their own skins just to give you that! But noooooooo, you wanted to make yourself all selfish just because you wanted to play the tragic heroine and went on raising hell on everything! You get what I mean here?!"

"Ron…" growled the Black Star as she noticed how her partner just went overboard on his fourth sentence. It was like he was purposely provoking the fallen Goddess into attack with his words.

Despite the thin ice he was threading, the shape shifting weapon didn't care at all. In fact, he kept on ranting as he yelled, "You're ungrateful and you should be ashamed! Oi, look at me dammit! Chin up and face the consequences with your hard head high! You think that your friends would just leave that world of yours in your hands if they didn't know you weren't capable enough?! Even _I _know that they're not that stupid! You're a freaking Goddess! Start acting like one and get your act together!"

Staring into the corrupted CPU's eyes, Rock then asked, "They trusted you. They had faith… You should have faith in them too."

"I-I-I'm sorry!" Nepgear broke down completely as she threw herself into the blue eyed girl's arms. The dark world around them broke off into tiny fragments before shattering completely and falling into nothingness. A powerful gale blew by and erased all which was part of the Stagnant Soul's world into fine dust, leaving nothing but the Threshold's bare checkered floor. The only thing that was left was the corrupted CPU's broken mount since half of her body was still attached to it.

The lilac haired girl felt something within her heart that she hasn't felt in a long time. It was… warm. A nostalgic feeling she always yearned for ever since she saved Gamindustri. Something that she had lost over the course of time even after her 'death'. She would have never imagined that she would be able to experience it once more. It felt nice… She wanted it to be with her forever.

She felt happiness.

The cold, dark feeling of her loneliness disappeared and was replaced with the light of joy. She was crying yet she was smiling at the same time. Her body felt light and warm, as if a great weight was suddenly taken from her back.

"Throw away despair…" muttered the Black Star, patting the fallen Goddess' long hair with her hand, "And smile…"

Blinking the tears away from her eyes, Nepgear gazed into the distance. She could see the figures of people up ahead, familiar people. They all waved and greeted her with a smile. It was if… They were welcoming her back from a long journey. She felt happy. She wanted to be with them. Especially with the girl grinning in the middle. The one with the purple hair and dressed in a simple white hoodie.

Reaching out with her hand, the lilac haired girl then said with a teary smile, "Everyone… Thank you…"

* * *

Walking through the Threshold's deserted landscape; Rock came to a halt just beside a ruined house. She could hear the sound of someone snoring from within so she took a look out of pure curiosity. She found Dead dozing off with her back against a wall, a dulled three pronged sword lying on her side. Looking up ahead, the blue eyed girl noticed her colleague's familiar had cracks and dents on its smooth black surface. It looked like this girl had a pretty tough time too.

Rock collapsed on the ground with her eyes gazing into the sky. She felt tired, she needed to repair her clothes, she wanted to take a break, these thoughts ran throughout her exhausted mind as she laid there. Her limbs refused to follow her will anymore so she stayed lying on the ground for a more than few moments. It was quite nice, listening to the ever present wind passing by. It in its own way, this world could be pretty nice too. What with the constant fighting between the Stagnant Souls and the Black Stars, Rock probably did not notice it.

In this crevice in which one could not hope to escape, there were things worth fighting for.

Somehow, meeting those Goddesses and understanding their pains, it felt enlightening. She slowly began to wonder how her days would be like had she not met them. Speaking and discovering their strange world… it could only be described as… fun….

Now that she thought about it, was _her _past life any fun? Was it enjoyable? Did she feel happy before she died and entered the Threshold? What was it like before she became a Black Star? Who was she? What was her name? Did she have friends? These questions, all of them replaced her tired thoughts and began to bounce around her mind. At that moment, something within the blue eye girl burst into life. She wanted to know more about herself. Her memories… Her ego… Her identity… She had this sudden urge to take them all back…

Rock raised her hand to her face and examined it.

"Man I'm beat. Aren't you going to wake this idiot up? We still have to report the mission as a success. Thank god almighty that this fiasco with Goddesses are over," Ron had reverted back into his snake form and was now slithering through the air above the Black Star. Coming to a halt, he turned to his companion and asked her, "So… What did you think of that conclusion?"

"Strange… I… enjoyed it."

"Heh… You're the strange one here…"

The two stared at the endless sky for a long time, resting as they both recovered from their wounds. Tomorrow was going to be another day for the Threshold for this girl however, it will be the day fate will run its course and continue her story.

But then again, that will be a tale for another time…

* * *

_Nicolas Notes:_

_Thank you fall for following my first HDN and BRS story. I would like to extend my gratitude for those who supported me along the way and for being patient with my writing. This would be the first long running fanfiction story that I've finished ever since I started three years ago. I still have a lot of stories to finish but I'm really glad that I managed to finish this somehow despite everything. It's been a long, hard, frustrating run yet I deeply enjoyed writing a story that's heavy in action despite me not being really good at it. _

_In the future, I hope to continue improving with all of your help. _

_I sure had a lot of fun writing this story even if this was just an experiment for me. I do hope that I did everything correctly, but please do not hesitate to tell me your thoughts on this story. I'll be working hard in my future projects so feedbacks would be appreciated._

_Thank you everyone! I couldn't have done this without you all! I—_

* * *

"Well there you have it, Lady Ram? Now wasn't that entertaining?"

A boy wearing a dark blue jacket with red linings sat on a chair, his face hidden by his hood while his lips were visible as they formed a smile. He had his left hand deep within his jacket's pocket while his right held a tea cup. He appeared to be the most normal individual compared to the two females sitting within him around a table.

It seemed like he was speaking to a girl about sixteen to eighteen in appearance and had two curled horns sprouting on either sides of her head. Her white veil hid her pink eyes as she took a sip from her tea cup. Ram, a being with immeasurable power and the one overseeing the operations of the Organization of the Threshold. She could be described best as the leader of the Black Stars.

Placing her tea back on its saucer, she the replied with a smile, "Very much, Creator. I assume that with that, the Distortion was completely nullified, correct?"

"Indeed," said the boy as he uttered a sigh, "I do apologize for the inconvenience it has caused. What with the loss of your own comrades as well as interfering with this world. With the story connected back to its original path, everything should go as normal. You need not to worry anymore…"

"I see," Ram gave the boy a scrutinizing look from behind her veil, "But… Are you certain that everything will take course as if nothing happened? What would happen if there were to be drawbacks from this little intervention of yours, Creator?"

"I am certain," confirmed the boy as he chuckled, "What are you implying, miss? I touched nothing related with how the fate of this world flows. All I did was get rid of the Distortion as you requested, nothing more… I have to abide by the rules after all. Ah, Plutia, you haven't touched your tea, is everything alright?"

The last bit was directed to a girl with indigo hair, dressed in what looked like a sleeping attire as she hugged a handmade doll. She had a distracted look on her face as if she was thinking about a lot of things before the boy caught her attention. Blinking in surprise, she stuttered, "W-What is it~?"

"Hm, I guess everything's alright then," dismissed the boy as he stood up, "Well if you don't mind, Lady Ram, my companion and I are going to take our leave. We thank you very much for your hospitality."

"Not at all, Creator," waved off Ram with a smile as she watched the girl opposite of her stand up and head to the boy's side.

The boy then grabbed the knob of the exit and opened it, revealing a golden wall of light filled with raw power and energy. Just as he was about to enter the portal with his companion, he took the time to look back at Ram and say a couple of partings words, "Even if I intervened or not, you fate will be the same."

The last thing he saw before he entered the door was Ram's baffled expression. Holding Plutia's hand tightly, the two of them travelled through the very fabrics of reality and passed by trillions of worlds. To the girl, it looked like a spectacular light show, one that she could not help but reach out and attempt to touch. She only held her hand back as she remembered what her friend told her and tightened her grip in his gloved hand. It felt like something was wrapping around her mind the longer she spent travelling yet the discomfort she experienced immediately disappeared once she her feet felt solid ground once more.

Opening her eyes, she found her city, Planeptune light up beneath her. She recognized this place. She was at the very top of the Neptower, the highest point in all of her nation. She was finally back home.

"Ohhhh~ I'm… back…" she whispered to herself. Turning around, she found the hooded boy sitting at the edge of the tower, giving the city beneath him an indifferent look, "I still don't understand…"

"What do you mean, Plutia?" asked the boy with a kind smile though his eyes remained hidden under the hood.

"All this… The reason why you took me~," replied the Goddess as she blinked, "This… This is all to fight Rabbit Head, is it~? Is he really a bad person~?"

"He is…" confirmed the boy with a sigh, "I'm sorry for dragging you into this and making you… you know…"

"It's okay~," said Plutia with a smile, "When I fought the mean Neppy jr. I was really scared, but I didn't like her being sad… No, not at all… She did look reeeeeaaally happy when she slept though~."

"You were scared even as Iris Heart? That's… surprising…" the boy stood up before approaching the girl, "Are you sure you're okay with this...? You can still back out, you know? You're too trusting even after I put you through. You're still willing to help."

"Well~ You're not a bad person~. You're a really nice one~!" praised the Goddess with a smile, "Besides… You've met a lot of people that's just like me, yes? I'm sure you'll know how to handle someone with my personality easily~. Just tell me what to do, Neppy and I still have to go fight bad guys tomorrow~!"

Crossing his arms, the Creator then replied, "Alright. I want you to look after the girl of the Old Nation. She's going to be essential to what I have in store. After that, I'll need your help to keep an eye on two of my agents. Everything will come down to the both of them. You're the only one I can trust in this, understand? It's the only way we can stop the Distortion in this world."

"I know. That's why you took me with you, right? To make me understand what was going on so that I'll help you," pointed out the Goddess with an unfaltering smile, "I'll do my best~. Buuuuuuut! You'll need top pat me on the head."

Doing as he was told, the boy whispered, "I did as you told me, to 'give everyone a happy ending'. I'm counting on you…"

Opening her eyes, she found out that he was gone. Somehow her face felt wet, only to realize that it was tears from her eyes. It hurt… It hurt seeing all of her friends suffer. She didn't want that to happen, she didn't want to see Neppy or Neppy jr. sad. Yes, she'll do all she can to keep them from being sad.

Something big was going to happen in not just the Gamindustri of this world. The two worlds will face a threat far more powerful than those in the past. All she could do now was pray….

_**To be continued in: A Console Life…?**_

* * *

_This is just the tip of the iceberg._


End file.
